Shah sets full- majority target in states

With the forthcoming Assembly elections set to be a reflection on the Narendra Modi government and the BJP under new leadership, newlyappointed party chief Amit Shah asked cadres to be ready for the polls as he set a target of “absolute majority” for the party in the coming Assembly elec- tions in four states. Reminding cadres that the country was not yet “Congress- free”, Mr Shah asked the cadres to work towards expanding the party’s ideology and its reach. The BJP national council on Saturday ratified Mr Shah as the new chief, who also stressed on coordination between the organisation and the BJPled Central government.

Mr Shah asked the state units to take every election seriously, even at the panchayat level, as elections are the means to expand the party’s base, connect with people and spread ideology. For poll- bound Maharashtra, while the projection of a chief minister remains a contentious issue between the BJP and ally Shiv Sena, Mr Shah indicated that his party wants to lead the show by

New Delhi: With JD( U) and the RJD joining hands to fight Bihar elections, BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed erstwhile ally Nitish Kumar saying he had “no shame” in associating with Lalu Prasad whom he had attacked earlier for running ‘ jungle raj’ in the state. “Nitish came to power by saying he was fighting against ‘ jungle raj’ of Lalu Prasad. Now he has gone and sat in the lap of same Lalu without any hesitation... There is no shame,” he said addressing the BJP National Council here. “In politics, principles matter more than numbers... We need to expose this immoral alliance,” Mr Shah told the gathering of leaders and cadres. Arch rivals JD( U) and RJD came together after their drubbing in the LS polls and have decided to contest the upcoming byelections in alliance along with Congress. Mr Shah exhorted party workers to ensure that BJP wins majority on its own in the state where Assembly elections are due next year.