UP CM Yogi Adityanath to address rally in Bihar

Patna: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to address a rally later this month in Bihar, considered a stronghold of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his major ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad, to mark three years of the BJP-led NDA government of Narendra Modi.

BJP leaders are silent on whether Adityanath`s rally will be a show of strength ahead of Lalu`s `maha rally` on August 27, which will be held to showcase a grand unity of non-BJP parties at the national level before the 2019 general elections.

After its shock defeat in the October-November 2015 Bihar assembly polls, BJP President Amit Shah has decided to use Adityanath as the new Hinduvta champion to challenge and counter the Lalu-Nitish nexus, party leaders say.

Yogi Adityanath`s visit to Bihar is bound to boost the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing group founded by him, which has decided to strengthen its presence in Bihar by enrolling thousands of youths.

The group has demanded that the government of Bihar set up anti-Romeo squads and take action against slaughterhouses, as in Uttar Pradesh.

Cow protection is one of the main objectives of the group, which has a strong presence in districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh bordering Bihar.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have already demanded that the Bihar government set up anti-Romeo squads and seal slaughterhouses.