PM Modi: Today's meeting will also be attended by BJP chief JP Nadda, and its state unit chiefs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is participating in a daylong election strategy session in Delhi today. Elections in five states are due over the coming months. Among these the biggest prize the BJP is looking out for is Bengal, which Amit Shah has been targetting since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014.
One more opposition-ruled state -- Kerala -- is on the list. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP has a loose alliance with the ruling AIADMK. In Assam, the BJP is hoping for a second term. It also hopes to wrest the Union Territory of Puducherry from the Congress.
Today's meeting will also be attended by party chief JP Nadda, and its state unit chiefs and in-charges.
The next two weeks will be hectic for the Prime Minister, who will be visiting Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry for mega rallies, multi-media campaigns and a spate of inaugurations.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll dates for the states early next month.
The BJP has timed the Prime Minister's visits accordingly. He has already visited Bengal and Assam several times. Over the last weeks, he went to Bengal twice, opening multiple projects. He is expected to hold a mega rally on March 7 at the iconic Brigade Ground in Kolkata.
On March 1, the Prime Minister plans to travel to Tamil Nadu. The BJP has only marginal influence in the state, but hopes to change things this time.
The Prime Minister's visit to Tamil Nadu is also expected to influence voters in Puducherry, which has seen its own share of political drama involving Chief Minister V Narayanswamy and Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi who was removed from her post on Tuesday.