Amit Shah

Patna, Sept. 16: Narendra Modi’s close aide, Amit Shah, shall visit Bihar before the BJP prime ministerial candidate addresses the BJP’s Hunkar rally here on October 27.

Shah, a trusted associate of Modi and BJP in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for the 2014 general elections, is scheduled to reach Patna on September 21 to attend the birth anniversary of former chief minister of Bhola Paswan Shastri, convener of the party’s anniversary committee, Sanjay Paswan told The Telegraph.

Before Shah’s arrival in Patna, the ruling party JD(U) and RJD have cautioned the state government of Amit Shah’s visit to the state.

JD(U) state president Bashishtha Narayan Singh said: “Amit Shah is a controversial person and as per reports prepared by Uttar Pradesh, he was behind the Muzaffarnagar violence. The government must keep a watch on the activities and movement of people like Amit Shah,” said Bashishtha.

RJD general secretary Ramkripal Yadav said: “The BJP and the RSS wanted to communalise the atmosphere before the 2014 elections. The government should take steps to stop such elements from entering Bihar.”

Sources said by organising Shastri’s birth anniversary, the BJP was trying to woo the Dalits who constitute around 15 per cent of the state’s population. Bhola Paswan Shastri, a Dalit leader, was chief minister of Bihar thrice between 1968 and 1971. Though Shastri belonged to Congress, the senior BJP leaders, including former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and BJP national general secretary Rajeev Pratap Rudy and Thawar Chand Gehlot, are scheduled to address it with eyes on the Dalit votes in the run-up to the 2014 elections.