Amit Shah is set to visit Bihar once again on April 2, as part of his monthly visits to review the BJP’s election preparations. During this visit, he will visit Sasaram and Nawada parliamentary constituencies. The visit to Sasaram is particularly significant as Amit Shah will be visiting the short inscriptions installed by King Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty. This is the only inscription of Bihar among the short inscriptions put up by Emperor Ashoka, and Amit Shah’s visit is expected to send a big political message.

Last year, the BJP had organized a movement regarding this inscription located on the sandalwood hill adjacent to Sasaram. The place of this short inscription, which is about 2300 years old, was occupied by a mausoleum for about 20 years. Despite repeated requests from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the local administration, this encroachment could not be removed. However, after a movement organized by Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council and BJP’s Legislative Councilor Samrat Chaudhary, the encroachment was removed on November 30, 2022, and the short inscription again came under the possession of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Amit Shah’s visit to the symbols associated with Emperor Ashoka is also significant because the Kushwaha community in Bihar considers itself a descendant of the Maurya dynasty, and Emperor Ashoka, along with Chandragupta Maurya, was the most glorious king of this dynasty. The number of Kushwaha voters in Bihar is about 6.5 percent, and if Kurmi voters are included in this, then this number crosses 10 percent. The Kurmi and Koeri communities in Bihar are commonly known as Luv Kush. This is the reason why BJP is preparing to bring Upendra Kushwaha, who recently left JDU and formed his own party, with it.