Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started its election related works in full swing. The party announced the steering committee for assembly elections in the state on Saturday The party appointed MoS Home Nityanand Rai as the president for the party's election-steering committee in the run up to the Bihar assembly polls.
Besides Rai, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has been appointed as the Chairman of election campaign committee.
Senior BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain have been given charge to assist Prasad.
Sanjay Jaiswal, president of the Bihar BJP unit, said 70 members in his team will look after the election-related issues.
Jaiswal said that Mangal Pandey, health minister of Bihar, has been made the election management committee president while agriculture minister Prem Kumar was named the election manifesto committee president.
The assembly elections are going to be announced within 10 to 15 days in Bihar. Elections would be held in 243 seats in the state in October and November.
Looking at the BJP's election steering committee, it has taken full care of the caste equation.The party has tried to woo OBC and Yadav voters by apponting State Health minister Mangal Pandey as President of the Election Management Committee while Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityananda Rai is given the responsibility the Assembly Election Steering Committee as its president.
Both the leaders have been former state presidents of the party who are fully acquainted with the social equation of Bihar having long experience of working.
In the last assembly election, the BJP contested alone and bagged 55 seats, while the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) which was part of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) along with the RJD had 69 seats.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) emerged as the single largest party with 74 seats, while the Congress got 26 seats.
After differences emerged between the JD-U and the RJD, the former had walked out from the Grand Alliance and formed the government along with the BJP.
(With input from various agencies)