BJP National Meet: PM Modi, Amit Shah and other party leaders to strategise for the 2019 elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP is meeting this afternoon to discuss and strategise its response to attacks on its government by a united opposition. The national party meeting, which will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, aims to work out the strategy to counter the opposition's criticism on issues like rise in fuel prices and diminishing value of the Rupee. It will also plan the roadmap for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well as the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana.
The two-day meeting will be attended by its key leaders from all states and Union territories besides its national leadership.
It comes against the backdrop of signs of unrest among upper castes, a core support base of the party, over its push for pro-Scheduled Caste laws to cater to the demands of the community.
BJP president Amit Shah inaugurated the meeting of its national office bearers today, which will be followed by the national meeting this afternoon. He will give the inaugural address while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to give the concluding speech tomorrow.
The ruling party is likely to highlight the central government's steps for "social justice" and "economic successes" besides its schemes aimed at empowering the poor.
Significantly, it has chosen the Ambedkar International Centre, which works to promote the works and ideas of Scheduled Caste icon BR Ambedkar, for hosting the meeting, a symbolism for its Scheduled Caste outreach.
However, it will have to do a balancing act as groups claiming to represent the upper castes, its core vote bank, have been protesting the government's decision to restore the original and stringent provisions of a law on atrocities against Scheduled Castes and tribals, after the Supreme Court had relaxed those.
Upper caste groups had called a "Bharat Bandh" on Thursday.
Senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra has gone on record seeking a rethink on the law, which non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes claim is often misused.
The issues of the National Register of Citizens, passage of key bills - including the one to restore the original provisions of the law on atrocities against Scheduled Castes and another that accorded constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) - in Parliament will also come up for discussion at the national meet, sources said, according to news agency PTI.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters the national meeting will discuss all the topical issues. He, though, did not elaborate further.
It will be the first such meeting of the party following the death of its stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The executive will pay tribute to the former prime minister, Mr Hussain said.
Sources also said that the hike announced by the government in the Minimum Support Price for a number of farm produce and the rise in the economic growth in the last quarter to 8.2 per cent would also find a mention, besides the ongoing "Gram Swaraj" campaign to cover the poor with a host of welfare programmes.
PM Modi has often cited his government's pro-poor programmes and push for laws to empower Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes as an evidence of its work for "social justice", a theme likely to be picked by the BJP national executive.
The BJP is likely to present itself as a party that has promoted the interests of the backward classes - a constituency it has constantly been wooing to big electoral successes since 2014.
Party leaders said the government's "honest" image and "successful" handling of the economy would keep its core constituency tethered to it in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
They added that the likely alliance of its rivals such as the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samajwadi Party and other regional parties would be a red herring for the upper castes.