Seeking to put the Delhi election defeat behind it, the three-day strategic national office-bearers and executive committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party that begins in Bengaluru from Thursday, will focus on evolving an action plan for strengthening its organisation in seven States, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam, which are going to polls in 2016.
Briefing the media here on Wednesday about the three-day meeting, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent party leaders, BJP national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao said the action plan would also cover Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. “We will have regional action plans to suit the requirement of States,” he said.
He sought to downplay the party’s defeat in the high-profile Delhi polls saying victory and defeat were common for any political party, and it had won the local bodies’ polls in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam after the Delhi defeat. “In fact, we are working on a strategy to retain the Delhi Municipal body under our control in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
He said the party had special plans to strengthen its organisation in Tamil Nadu, where it had enrolled over 35 lakh members.
He said the national executive would also help shape a national campaign to reach the Narendra Modi government’s achievements, particularly those in the social and agrarian sectors, to the people. He denied that the campaign, which would be launched in two to three months from now, was an image-boosting exercise.
“The national executive will also deliberate on the consolidation of gains the party has made in the form of winning the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with a massive mandate, and the subsequent membership drive under which the party has already enrolled 8.8 crore members,” he said.
BJP State president Pralhad Joshi said the executive would also deliberate on bringing the party back to power in Karnataka, which he said is the party’s gateway to the southern region.
While the national office-bearers’ meeting would be held on Thursday, the executive would be held on Friday and Saturday. Mr. Modi, who will arrive in the city on Thursday, will also address a public meting at the Basavanagudi National College grounds on Friday evening.
