Amit Shah, Gadkari to attend BJP state conclave in Pune on Sunday
BJP national joint general secretary Shiv Prakash and key leaders from Maharashtra, including deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, will also attend the conclave
MUMBAI: Ahead of the assembly elections, the BJP on Sunday will hold a grand conclave of its state unit’s 5,300 office-bearers and leaders in Balewadi in Pune. Besides the aggressive outreach programme to take the government’s schemes to voters, the party is expected to take a call on collective leadership in the elections as well as take a stand on reservation to Marathas and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The conclave is to be attended by union home minister Amit Shah, union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, national joint general secretary Shiv Prakash and key leaders from Maharashtra, including deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The party’s election in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and co-incharge Ashwini Vaishnaw, who held a core committee meeting in Mumbai for two days, will also attend.
The party will keep its thrust on highlighting the state government’s recently announced schemes, including Ladki Bahin, Annapurna Yojana and the electricity bill waiver scheme. “The party believes that the cash benefit schemes, if implemented effectively, could help the state government come back to power,” said a senior party leader.
The leader added that this was where the outreach programme would help. “Reaching these schemes to backward classes and Muslims will help the ruling parties, including the BJP, win back the support of these communities,” he said. “The Maratha quota stir set back the BJP a lot in the Lok Sabha election, especially in Marathwada. Unrest among the OBCs owing to the decision to include Marathas in the OBC category also impacted the poll results. The party will attempt to send out a strong message to the public to ensure that these communities are not distanced from the ruling parties.”
The BJP leader said that the party’s central leadership would also attempt to send out a message that it valued the original party leaders and their leadership the most. “There could be a message of collective leadership, of accommodating leaders from various communities for the assembly polls,” he added.
BJP state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the conclave would be “historic”, as over 5,300 party workers and leaders would participate in it. “The message of the outreach programme for the assembly polls will be taken to villages and from door to door by these party workers with the help of 3.5 million registered workers of the party,” he said. Bawankule added that the workers would be instructed to “help voters understand” how it would be “damaging for the state” if the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government were to come to power. “The MVA government will shut down all the development projects and discontinue welfare schemes like Ladki Bahin and free cylinders,” he claimed.
Bawankule said that former union minister Raosaheb Danve would speak on the political atmosphere and the development work done by the state and the Modi government. “Union minister Nitin Gadkari will conclude the first session,” he said. “The second session is to be addressed by party joint general secretary Shiv Prakash and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The conclave will be concluded by union home minister Amit Shah.”