By IANS,
New Delhi : After its euphoric victory in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds its two-day national executive here Sunday with renewed optimism of winning the forthcoming assembly elections in five states and the general elections likely to be held in May next year.
The main issue to come up for discussion at the BJP national executive will be the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan to be held in November, as well as working out a strategy for Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, where elections are due within a year.
“It is a run-up to the Lok Sabha elections and the party is planning out strategies to carry on the vijay rath to the next parliament,” Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP vice-president told IANS.
With the victory in Karnataka, the BJP is in power in seven states. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners are in power in another five states.
“The Congress has won only in Assam since the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government came to power in 2004,” said Ravishankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson. The BJP won the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in December.
The BJP is likely to continue with the now successful formula in state elections of projecting a chief minister, taking the local and state level leaders into confidence and emphasising the state and national level issues in the agenda.
The two-day executive will be attended by 200 members of the national executive, chief ministers of NDA and party-ruled states and special invitees.
Other than the forthcoming elections, the party will also discuss rising inflation and the “worsening internal security situation”. “Though the UPA government claims there is 8 percent growth, it is benefiting only the rich as rising inflation is affecting the poor,” Prasad said.
The serial blasts in Jaipur on May 13 in which more than 60 people were killed will also figure in the meetings.
The BJP has been critical of the UPA on the issue of terror, calling it soft. The party has also blamed the UPA of failing to control Maoist violence in the country.
The on-going violent agitation by Gujjars in Rajasthan who are demanding Scheduled Tribe status is also slated for discussion. The foreign policy of the UPA government and the recent developments in neighbouring countries – Pakistan and China – will also be discussed, according to party sources.
Party president Rajnath Singh will preside over the proceedings on Sunday, while the party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani will chair the session on Monday.