Patna: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chalked out the blueprint of its strategy to counter the combined strength of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar — two prominent backward leaders who have been ruling Bihar for around 25 years — in the coming state elections. Former chief minister Prasad heads the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) while Kumar is a senior leader from the ruling Janata Dal (United).

The strategy was unveiled by BJP chief Amit Shah during his two-day visit to the state which concluded on Saturday. Under part of the plan, the party, which was once known as the party of the upper castes, will now focus on backward classes and Dalits — the community which has been the traditional vote bank of the RJD and JD-U.

The party made its intention clear by observing the birth anniversary of prominent backward class icon Karpoori Thakur, former chief minister of Bihar, who held office twice. This was the second time in quick succession that the party had observed his birth anniversary with fanfare.

The backward community, divided into various castes and sub-castes, accounts for some 30 per cent of the total population whereas Dalits, divided into 21 castes, form some 22 per cent of the state’s total population. The party believes it will be able to easily form the government in Bihar should they get even a little support of this vast backward classes and Dalits while they enjoy the cushion of a strong 14 per cent support base of upper caste voters.

At the same time, the party has declared going hammer and tongs at what it said is the “unholy” alliance between Kumar and Nitish. It will also remind the masses about how the arch-rivals who once fought against each other have now joined hands just to stay in power.

“Both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar all along fought against the Congress. Nitish Kumar, in league with the BJP, fought against Lalu Prasad for 17 years, but now they are joining hands. That’s way I call this an ‘unholy’ and ‘unethical’ alliance,” Shah told the media on Saturday, adding the common masses would reject this alliance in the coming polls.

He claimed the BJP was not a bit worried over the proposed merger of the erstwhile Janata Dal family since it lacked mass support now. “Janata [people] have come out of this while only family has been left. That’s why I don’t see them as a major threat,” Shah said, sounding overconfident about forming the next government in the state.

Shah who was on a maiden visit to the state post his appointment as the BJP president also charged the present JD-U regime with failing to rule the state properly and pushing it back into the old phase of what he described as “jungle raj”. “The state is fast slipping back into the days of Jungle Raj post the split with the BJP. This proves the state’s progress under NDA rule was mainly due to BJP being its alliance partner,” he explained.

Shah gave certain tips to the party workers and leaders about how to achieve its target of getting seven million BJP members in Bihar by the end of March this year. “If the committee members of 60,000 booths successfully enrol 100 new members each, this target can be easily achieved,” Shah told them.

However, the BJP chief remained evasive about who will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate for Bihar in the coming elections, the way it has projected former police commissioner Kiran Bedi as the party’s chief minister candidate in Delhi polls. “It’s for the BJP parliamentary board to decide whether it will project a face or not as the chief ministerial candidate for Bihar polls. We will decide it at the opportune moment…when the polls near,” Shah said.