File photo of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Facing one of the toughest electoral battles in his political career, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will hold 'Bihar Samman Sammelan' across the country to reach out to migrants from the state.
"The Bihar Chief Minister will contact the non-resident Biharis living in all parts of the country through the Bihar Samman Sammelan that will be organized across the nation.
Mr Kumar will personally participate in the conference organized in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati," JD-U general secretary KC Tyagi told PTI.
Mr Tyagi claimed that people of Bihar living outside the state are "proud of the achievements of Nitish Kumar government" and have an "emotional connect" with the Chief Minister.
A larger number of people from Bihar stay in metros, who go back to the state during important festivals like Chhath and Diwali. There is a significant population of migrants still enrolled as voters in Bihar.
"Kumar had a plan to engage with people of Bihari origin in Delhi NCR on August 1 in the Pravasi Bihari Samman Awards- 2014 in Delhi. But he cancelled the programme due to the sad demise of former President APJ Abdul Kalam," sources in the party said, adding it will be rescheduled after the mourning period comes to an end.
Mr Kumar will also inaugurate the Delhi Chapter of Bihar Foundation on this occasion, the sources said.
The idea to reach out to Bihari migrants is not new to Nitish Kumar but this time it is backed by the strategy and planning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's once key campaign consultant Prashant Kishor, the brain behind his 'Chai Pe Charcha' programme to connect with the masses.
Mr Kishor, himself from Bihar, is now working on sharpening Kumar's election campaign and is learnt to have given broad details on how to connect with the huge population in mega cities of Non-Resident Biharis, who are considered key opinion makers.
Trying to reach out to migrants in December 2013 ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, Kumar had said there were two Delhis - one for the rich and the other for the poor - and it was the people of Bihar and Purvanchal who helped build the city.