The long-running cold war between Bihar’s ruling JD(U) and the Opposition BJP over saffron icon Narendra Modi’s proposed rally in Patna in October has flared up after the BJP was denied permission to use the entire area of the spacious Gandhi Maidan in the state capital for the rally.
The BJP, currently preparing with widespread enthusiasm for the October 27 rally that would directly expose Bihar’s voters to the Gujarat chief minister’s political ideas and strategies, was aghast by unexpected limitations set by the Patna district administration. In response to the party’s request to book the historic ground for two days (October 26 and 27) for the major political event, the administration wrote to it on September 9 that only the Maidan’s western half could be spared due to a 10-day celebration of the Education Day by the state government scheduled at the same venue.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi protested, insinuating that the denial of the entire Gandhi Maidan for the “Hunkar rally” was the JD(U)’s political ploy to limit the BJP’s opportunities in Bihar in the 2014 polls. In a quick reversal of the administration’s stand, DM N. Saravana Kumar said that the entire Gandhi Maidan had been allotted to the BJP.