Amit Shah in Bihar, breakfasts with Nitish; dinner due

Tribune News Service

Patna, July 12

BJP president Amit Shah arrived here on Thursday and met JD-U chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at breakfast.

The meeting comes amid speculations on seat sharing and leadership issues between the two allies.

Shah who is here to interact with party leaders and workers to design strategies leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, met the Janata Dal-United President soon after his arrival.

The BJP chief headed straight for the state guest house near Raj Bhawan, along with senior party leaders to break bread with Nitish Kumar, a key NDA ally.

Shah will again meet the Chief Minister at his official residence at dinner, when crucial discussion on 2019 General Election seat sharing between the allies was expected.

A team of BJP leaders, including Union Ministers from Bihar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi earlier thronged the Patna airport with garlands to welcome Shah.

This is Shah's first visit after Nitish Kumar's JD-U joined the National Democratic Alliance in July 2017 after dumping the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress of the Grand Alliance.

Unprecedented security arrangements have been made for Shah's visit. The state capital has been turned into a fortress with thousands of security personnel deployed and traffic diversions in place.

The entire city has been flooded with colourful hoardings, banners, high rise gates and posters highlighting the achievements of four years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Shah will be holding series of meetings and discussions with the party leaders and workers on preparations leading up to the 2019 General Election.

He will interact with 10,000 ground-level party workers, who head the booths in the state. Besides, he will also meet the party's social media activists to discuss the digital campaign, a BJP leader said.  With IANS inputs