Indore:
The three-day BJP national executive and council meeting begins in Indore today.
The meet is expected to reveal the line that new chief Nitin Gadkari takes the party on.
Coming in the backdrop of the Pune blast and the BJP's objection totalks with Pakistan, the meet will also see the party's nationalistline being sharpened just before Parliament opens for the budgetsession.
On Tuesday, Hours before a gigantic City of Tents opens for business,the new man in town conducted an elaborate puja, offering his prayersto Bada Ganesh in Indore.
From today, thousands of BJP leaderswill look to Nitin Gadkari for direction for their party. For threedays, they will discuss their strategy to combat the Congress and, morespecifically, Rahul Gandhi. (
Read: (Not all) Welcome to BJP's city of canvas, Indore)
Perhapsthat's why Gadkari dropped into a Dalit's home for lunch, a signaturemove of Gandhi's. Seated cross-legged on the floor, Gadkari shared whathe'd wisher for earlier. "I prayed for the strength to work for mycountry and its poor." (
Watch: Gadkari does a Rahul, eats at Dalit's house)
Gadkari,like Gandhi, has already urged his party workers to focus onreconnecting with the aam admi. Now, the Gadkari Gameplan will befleshed out. Each leader will be asked to head one social cause underthe Antyodaya scheme.
The party will also be asked to attackthe Congress, but without the shrill pitch that didn't work in thegeneral elections in May last year. Climbing food prices and terrorwill be the BJP's focus.
The Pune blast over the weekend inwhich 10 people died and nearly 60 were injured has given the BJP astarting point for this new strategy.
Its own security has beenplanned in detail - 1600 surveillance cameras, bomb disposal squads,3000 policemen will all man the City of Canvas.
And if RahulGandhi can take local trains in Mumbai, well, the BJP hopes to dobetter - by living in tents and riding cycles through its maze of tents.