Mr Shah planned to review preparations for a grand Oct 27 rally that the BJP has planned to showcase Mr Modi.
Patna:
Narendra Modi's right-hand man Amit Shah has cancelled a scheduled visit to Bihar over a protocol faux pas in the party.
Mr Shah was invited by the the state BJP's Scheduled Caste wing for a function and, sources said, also planned to review preparations for a grand October 27 rally that the party has planned to showcase Mr Modi, who the BJP named last week as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014.
Mr Shah, who is a BJP general secretary and has charge of the party's election preparations in Uttar Pradesh, has reportedly said he is caught up with work and so cannot fly to Patna on Saturday. But sources here say the plan was scuttled because top leaders of the Bihar BJP are miffed because Sanjay Paswan, who heads the party's Scheduled Caste wing, did not consult them before inviting Mr Shah.
Leaders like state party president Mangal Pandey, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Legislative Council Nand Kishore Yadav and senior leader Sushil Modi will be away in Saharsa for a party programme.
The Bihar unit of the party has extended staunch support to Narendra Modi from even before he was officially announced presumptive PM. Last month, it had passed a resolution that the BJP make a Modi-for-PM announcement soon, earning rebuke from party president Rajnath Singh.
The Gujarat Chief Minister's elevation as the BJP's campaign chief in June this year had cost the party its 17-year-old alliance with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) which rules Bihar.
For leaders like Sushil Modi, who was Bihar's deputy chief minister, it meant an immediate fall from grace; Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wasted no time in removing all 11 BJP ministers.
Mr Kumar accuses Mr Modi of being a divisive leader who did not do enough to stop communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 during his first term as chief minister. For many years the BJP kept Mr Modi away from the state in deference to the CM's discomfort.
Now, it is gearing up for Mr Modi's rally, where he is expected to attack Nitish Kumar for having snapped ties with the BJP.
Mr Shah was invited by the the state BJP's Scheduled Caste wing for a function and, sources said, also planned to review preparations for a grand October 27 rally that the party has planned to showcase Mr Modi, who the BJP named last week as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014.
Mr Shah, who is a BJP general secretary and has charge of the party's election preparations in Uttar Pradesh, has reportedly said he is caught up with work and so cannot fly to Patna on Saturday. But sources here say the plan was scuttled because top leaders of the Bihar BJP are miffed because Sanjay Paswan, who heads the party's Scheduled Caste wing, did not consult them before inviting Mr Shah.
Leaders like state party president Mangal Pandey, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Legislative Council Nand Kishore Yadav and senior leader Sushil Modi will be away in Saharsa for a party programme.
The Bihar unit of the party has extended staunch support to Narendra Modi from even before he was officially announced presumptive PM. Last month, it had passed a resolution that the BJP make a Modi-for-PM announcement soon, earning rebuke from party president Rajnath Singh.
The Gujarat Chief Minister's elevation as the BJP's campaign chief in June this year had cost the party its 17-year-old alliance with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) which rules Bihar.
For leaders like Sushil Modi, who was Bihar's deputy chief minister, it meant an immediate fall from grace; Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wasted no time in removing all 11 BJP ministers.
Mr Kumar accuses Mr Modi of being a divisive leader who did not do enough to stop communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 during his first term as chief minister. For many years the BJP kept Mr Modi away from the state in deference to the CM's discomfort.
Now, it is gearing up for Mr Modi's rally, where he is expected to attack Nitish Kumar for having snapped ties with the BJP.
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