Motihari:
LK Advani held his first rally for the Bihar elections today in the Motihari district. The state starts voting later this month.
In his speech, Advani zeroed in on an unlikely agenda. "The Muslim community enjoys the best opportunities in Gujarat, even though the Chief Minister gets bad press all the time," he said.
The vote of confidence for Narendra Modi comes just months after the BJP's alliance in Bihar with Nitish Kumar almost collapsed over whether Modi should be allowed to campaign for the elections here.
Nitish, determined to protect his secular image and keep Muslim voters by his side, ruled that Bihar would be off-limits for the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Even Advani's presence, sources say, make Nitish nervous - one reason why the BJP veteran is not campaigning in parts of the state that vote first and have a sizeable Muslim population.
So far, the most senior leaders of the Nitish-BJP alliance have not appeared together at a single rally - allowing the Congress to claim evidence that the alliance is one of opportunism, and not ideology.
In his speech, Advani zeroed in on an unlikely agenda. "The Muslim community enjoys the best opportunities in Gujarat, even though the Chief Minister gets bad press all the time," he said.
The vote of confidence for Narendra Modi comes just months after the BJP's alliance in Bihar with Nitish Kumar almost collapsed over whether Modi should be allowed to campaign for the elections here.
Nitish, determined to protect his secular image and keep Muslim voters by his side, ruled that Bihar would be off-limits for the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Even Advani's presence, sources say, make Nitish nervous - one reason why the BJP veteran is not campaigning in parts of the state that vote first and have a sizeable Muslim population.
So far, the most senior leaders of the Nitish-BJP alliance have not appeared together at a single rally - allowing the Congress to claim evidence that the alliance is one of opportunism, and not ideology.
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