Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, 14 October
The BJP appears to have revived its old party office, 11 Ashok Road, (now an informal ‘war room’) for informal meetings on strategy formulation for the upcoming assembly elections.
After a brainstorming session on Uttar Pradesh with core group leaders of the state unit earlier this week, sources say that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has joined senior party leaders including Piyush Goyal, BL Santosh and Arun Singh in the old party. Had another informal meeting with office on Wednesday.
All the five election states were discussed, he said, adding that further strategic meetings with individual state leaders are also expected soon.
The general idea is that while official meetings may take place at the new headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, informal meetings may take place in the Ashoka Road ‘war room’, mainly due to its convenient central location.
With elections approaching, the central leadership of the BJP is deliberating and reviewing electoral strategies.
Shah, who is scheduled to visit Uttarakhand on a two-day visit later this week to review election strategies, will also visit other poll-bound states in the coming days.
He will be in Goa on Thursday to attend a party event.
Observers say the last meeting was on Uttar Pradesh, where top party leaders are keeping an eye on the aftermath of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, which has the potential to adversely affect the party’s prospects not only in UP but in neighboring Uttarakhand and Punjab. There is enough reason for the BJP to be concerned.
The opposition is demanding the sacking of Shah’s deputy Ajay Mishra for his son’s alleged involvement.