BJP National Executive to discuss Land Bill and focus on expanding base

Bengaluru: A two-day meeting of the newly-reconstituted National Executive of the BJP on April 3-4 will take stock of various programmes initiated by the Narendra Modi government in the last 10 months and focus on the pro-farmer credentials of the Land Bill in a bid to blunt the opposition attack.

Being held after a long gap in the south, the conclave that will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Cabinet Ministers and top leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, is also expected to evolve a strategy for expanding the party's base in the states where it is weak.

On the Land Acquisition issue, the BJP top brass is likely to impress upon its members to take across the message of the government that it is a pro-farmer step aimed at ensuring all-round development of rural India and ensure progress of farmers.

Tomorrow, Shah will meet party office-bearers when they will lay down the agenda for the Executive meeting. At the Executive, political and foreign policy resolutions will be discussed when the entire gamut of government policy initiatives will be deliberated upon.

The political resolution is expected to touch issues of economy and social security measures.

Besides its 111 members, some permanent and special invitees of the national executive, including chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states, state presidents and all former chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of BJP will also be present at the meet.

The highlight of the first day's deliberations will be the Presidential speech by Shah followed by discussions on the foreign policy resolution.

The conclave is expected to hail the initiatives taken by Modi, including his outreach to neighbours, and with major powers like the US. In the evening, Modi will address a public rally.

On Saturday, the discussions on political resolution will revolve around economic situation and the steps taken by the government to revive growth and restore investor-confidence.

The conclave will conclude with valedictory address by the Prime Minister. Advani and Shah will also address the meeting that day.

Briefing reporters ahead of the conclave, BJP General Secretary P Murlidhar Rao said, "The meeting also will discuss how to reach out to people - taking the achievements of the government under Narendra Modi, particularly pro-farmers and pro-youth. All these issues will be discussed threadbare and action plan be prepared."

The meeting "will be adopting an action plan to expand the party's base...particularly seven states - Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala."

Rao said the action plan would also address the issue of making the party powerful and "Number One organisation" in these states.

"In the last elections we have garnered significant percentage of votes, but becoming powerful and number one party in these weak states is the target with which we will be going ahead. So, for that an action plan will be finalised in this meeting," he said.

Rao said before adopting an action plan, it would discuss the future consolidation of the BJP.

"After our party became the largest political outfit in the world by breaking the record previously held by the Communist Party of China, the meeting will discuss about the future consolidation of the party," he said.

The meeting would work out plans to celebrate next year the centenary of the Deendayal Upadhyaya, stalwart of erstwhile Jan Sangh, the forerunner of the present day BJP.

"He was a revered icon of Integral Humanism. He was an ideologue and a guiding force for an alternative model of governance and politics," Rao said.