Focus shifts to Rajasthan as Congress, BJP plan party meetings in state

This is for the first time in recent years that the BJP is going to hold such an important meeting in an opposition-ruled state. Out of the six states where elections are due in the next two years, the Congress is in government in two states, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. This makes the BJP meeting in Rajasthan important.

The BJP in the state has been constantly attacking the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government over communal tensions in different parts of the state and failure of governance. The party wants to maintain its victorious run which could influence elections of other nearby states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Since it is a party office-bearers’ meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address it virtually from Delhi. The party’s in-charges of states going to the polls have been asked to submit a progress report and detailed plan for further action is to be discussed in the meeting.

In recent weeks, senior BJP leaders have been visiting Rajasthan on a regular basis, and before the meeting, the party’s national president, JP Nadda, will visit the state for two days from May 10. Before his visit, BJP general secretary and in-charge of Rajasthan, Arun Singh, will visit the state for one week and prepare a detailed report on the party’s election preparedness.

“The fact that our national president is visiting the state twice in a month itself indicates that the party is serious about election preparations in the state,” Satish Poonia, Rajasthan BJP president, told ET. “These meetings will surely encourage party workers and leaders to become battle-ready before election.”

Home minister Amit Shah is also set to visit the state this month in the tribal belt of Banswara.