Even as it celebrated the anointment of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, the State BJP is trying to leverage the decision to consolidate its traditional support base and to galvanise its cadre.
The party lost ground even in its traditional strongholds in the Assembly elections. The leaders’ hopes of a recovery in the byelections to the Legislative Council had been dashed as the party drew a blank. Even its support to the Janata Dal (S) in the by-elections to the Lok Sabha had not helped in halting the ruling Congress in its tracks.
However, the party is now trying to cash in on the latest announcement. “The fact that the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa immediately announced his support to the NDA and Mr. Modi has provided a boost to our consolidation efforts,” the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda told
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The party core committee is set to meet within a few days to finalise the nature and schedule of programmes to be organised as part of Mr. Modi’s visit to the State in October. Though the party formally declared Mr. Modi’s candidature only on Friday, the State unit started publicity in favour of Mr. Modi by launching a door-to-door campaign a month ago.