At the national executive meeting in Delhi, BJP chief Amit Shah, in a point by point rebuttal of the combined opposition's attack on the government said, "Mahagathbandhan is an eyewash, an illusion based on falsehood". The party would win the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a bigger mandate than 2014, said Mr Shah. The BJP chief however, cautioned the party workers and said, "We should not be complacent." The party has decided fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Mr Shah. The Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh has confirmed to NDTV that the party's internal polls, to select a new leader, will be deferred as Mr Shah's term as president ends in January 2019. The two-day meeting is being attended by its national leadership, key leaders from all states and union territories and office bearers.
Here are the top 10 points about the BJP's national executive meeting
The Narendra Modi-led government is working for "making India" whereas the Congress is working for "breaking India," said the BJP president.
The BJP chief congratulated Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his action against activists who are under house arrest for their alleged links with Bhima Koregaon violence.
A slogan of "Ajey BJP" (Invincible BJP) was adopted at the meeting and Mr Shah told the leaders to work for the party's victory in the five states. A decision has been taken to give extra emphasis on the elections in Telangana, which is expected to go polls with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, said party sources
The meeting, which will be attended by the central leadership on Sunday, comes in the backdrop of signs of unrest among upper castes, a core support base of the BJP, farmers' protests and angst of the SC/ST community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the meeting on Sunday. The BJP is focusing on highlighting the centre's steps for "social justice" and "economic successes" besides its schemes for the poor.
In a bid to reach out to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the party has chosen the Ambedkar International Centre, as the venue of the meeting.
"There has been an attempt to create confusion regarding SC/ST issue, but that won't cause any impact on 2019 elections", Mr Shah told the office bearers, reported news agency ANI.
The party will have to do a balancing act after Thursday's "Bharat Bandh" as people of the upper castes have been protesting the government's decision to restore the stringent provisions of a law on atrocities against tribals, after the Supreme Court's order.
The National Register of Citizens will also come up for discussion at the national executive meet, said party sources.
PM Modi's pro-poor programmes focusing on "social justice", the hike 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 will also be discussed.
