Patna: While JD(U) organised a rally at Delhi in support of special status for Bihar, its ally BJP on Sunday decided to postpone its "Hunkar rally" to October 27 instead of April 15 as planned earlier.
Shifting of date of the rally to demand special status for Bihar and alleged discrimination of the state by the Centre was announced by Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey on conclusion of party`s two-day working committee meeting here.
Pandey told reporters the postponement was keeping in view organisational work.
"By September 30, the party would be able to activate its workers till booth level for the rally," Pandey said.
The rally was touted as a big event as previous state BJP chief CP Thakur had said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be invited in the rally to be held at Gandhi Maidan.
But Pandey, a protégé of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi who is an architect of JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar, said, "in such party event who will participate is decided by the party central leadership".
On Narendra Modi`s chances of being declared as NDA Prime Ministerial candidate in 2014, he said this would be decided by the central leadership and being head of the state unit he would abide by it.
The two-day Bihar BJP working committee meeting which was inaugurated by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley yesterday was today addressed by Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, Ravishankar Prasad and Shahnawaz Hussain among others.
The dissidents including three ministers Ashwani Choubey, Chandramohan Rai and Giriraj Singh, Deputy Speaker Amarendra Pratap Singh and three former Bihar BJP chiefs C P Thakur, Tarakant Jha and Gopal Narayan Singh who are protesting against Sushil Modi`s "hijacking" the party remained absent today also.
Pandey, however, denied any rift within the party. "Some of the leaders who did not come are either not well or had informed the party about their prior engagements," the Bihar BJP chief said.
The meeting, the first after Pandey assumed state presidentship, is seen as part of strategy to gear up the party for 2014 polls.
PTI
