Political Parties

BJP meets to fine-tune strategy for mission 2014, Narendra Modi attends

BJP targets 272 seats ahead of Lok Sabha polls
The party has invited some 10,000 workers to Delhi for meetings which will discuss the ‘Mission 272’ programme

New Delhi: The national executive and council of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started a three-day meeting on Friday to fine-tune the main opposition party’s electoral strategy for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has invited some 10,000 party workers to Delhi for the meetings, which will discuss the party’s Mission 272 programme that aims at ensuring that the party and its allies win at least a simple majority of 272 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

“Normally we call 1,000-1,200 members for national council but this time we have invited over 10,000 from panchayat level, local bodies, districts and above because it’s an election year and we want BJP to be prepared for the it,” said party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Senior BJP leaders are considering announcing the names of the party’s electoral candidates at the meeting to get a headstart in the poll battle, expected in April-May. The BJP has already chosen Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

“We want to announce the names early so that contestants get time to prepare. This is going to be the last meeting of this scale before the general election,” said Naqvi.

Sensing the anti-corruption mood in the country, especially after the sudden rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, BJP leaders plan to tell the party cadre that the creation of the Lokpal was not an initiative of the Congress party but a brainchild of the BJP, which included a promise to set up an anti-corruption ombudsman in its 1996 manifesto.

“BJP had included creation of Lokpal in its manifesto in 1996 and during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the party had brought the Bill in Parliament but unfortunately it was prevented,” said Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a senior BJP leader.
“While Congress is talking about Right to Information (RTI), it should not be forgotten that the Freedom of Information Bill was also brought by Vajpayee,” he said.

Political analysts point out that by inviting more than 10,000 people to the meeting, the BJP has sent out a message that it will contest the Lok Sabha elections on the strength of its cadre.

“The national executive has 300 members and normally 1,000 people are invited for council, but this council meeting is like a training session for the cadre so that the same message goes down from national level to panchayat level. It is no longer a national council meeting and but national training session to counter AAP,” said Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst.

Source: LiveMint,IBN live

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