If sources are to be believed, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis is going to be the chief campaign in-charge of the Bihar Elections. Devendra Fadnavis has already started attending the meetings on Bihar Elections via video-conferencing. As per the reports, the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) central leadership has also directed its Bihar unit to involve Devendra Fadnavis at every level and keep him informed about all the developments.
If this happens, it would be a very calculated move by the BJP think tank. Bihar Elections are scheduled to take place in the months of October-November 2020. And all political parties have already started their campaigns to lure their vote banks.
Though, these are mostly the local issues that define the mood of voters in assembly elections, this year the scenario is different. The world has been hit by coronavirus pandemic and it had a devastating impact in India too. India witnessed one of the biggest exoduses after partition in 1947. Lakhs of migrant workers returned to their hometowns. And the majority of them returned from Maharashtra to Bihar. This means, currently, there are around 12-15 lakh migrants in Bihar who returned from Maharashtra. And all of them know who Devendra Fadnavis is. All of them have experienced his leadership and all of them could easily connect to him. Having Devendra Fadnavis as the campaign in-charge in Bihar will definitely help BJP.
Another angle that, contextually, become important is the way Mumbai Police’s investigation of the Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. It is clearly evident that the Uddhav Thackeray government and his Police did not do justice to Sushant. And it is, therefore, that Sushant’s father had to lodge the FIR in Patna. And finally, the Bihar government had to give its consent to refer the case to CBI. The entire episode created a rift between the Bihar and the Maharashtra governments. Devendra Fadnavis, being the predecessor of Uddhav Thackeray, can easily explain where and why the Maharashtra government defaulted. People of Bihar are seeking justice for Sushant Singh Rajput. And the presence of Devendra Fadnavis will help BJP ride the wave of sentiments in Bihar.
No doubt, Devendra Fadnavis is known for his managerial skills. He knows how to nurture relationships, how to motivate the karyakartas and how to execute political campaigns. If these tactical and contextual advantages get added to his abilities, then Devendra Fadnavis surely becomes one of the best options to become the campaign in-charge for Bihar Elections.
