New Delhi:
Soon after a group of 12 top leaders signed off on Narendra Modi's campaign agenda today, the BJP declared it is now in election mode.
In the next few days, Mr Modi, who heads the BJP's election campaign committee, and party president Rajnath Singh will set up panels and farm out responsibilities for electioneering. Party general secretaries are already pooling their inputs to create an ideas bank.
Senior party leader Ananth Kumar said after the meeting of the BJP's parliamentary board that the main opposition party is battle-ready for snap polls and will fight the Congress-led UPA government on corruption and price rise.
"Due to its internal crisis, the Congress may try to hold early elections. In that event, the BJP is ready for snap polls," Mr Kumar said, declaring that the party is "now in election mode."
The BJP plans to announce a big outreach programme soon which will see leaders fanning out countrywide for more than a 100 rallies, Mr Kumar said.
At the centre of the flurry of activity is campaign chief Mr Modi, increasingly seen as the face of the BJP's electioneering for 2014. The Gujarat Chief Minister, who has been criticised for being remote and inaccessible, interacted with 1,500 grassroots leaders and workers in Bihar through teleconference and will be visiting Odisha and Andhra Pradesh later this month.
Mr Modi has not been projected as the BJP's candidate for prime minister in the next general elections, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, has reportedly made it clear that he will get top billing in the BJP's campaign.
The RSS, which is the ideological mentor of the BJP, has in a series of top-level meetings also attempted to ensure that there is no more rebellion against Mr Modi as witnessed last month when party senior LK Advani quit all his party posts to protest against the elevation of the Gujarat Chief Minister as the party's election campaign.
The 85-year-old rescinded his resignation a day later, on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat intervened. The RSS has now reportedly told the BJP that seniors like Mr Advani must be given key responsibilities for the elections.
Since last week, at the party's parliamentary board meetings, Mr Modi has been tactically seated next to Mr Advani to signal that their rift had ended.