About 300 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders gathered in Allahabad on Sunday for a two-day conclave that will set the tone for next year’s assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Read: BJP national executive meet today; UP elections, ‘goonda raj’ on the agenda
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are some of the prominent attendees of the event.
The meeting coincides with the Modi government’s second anniversary celebration and a concerted effort by the centre to showcase its pro-poor schemes.
The BJP has set its eye on Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, where it won 71 out of 80 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party is buoyed from an electoral victory in Assam and an increase in vote-share in Bengal and Kerala.
“We are having elections in five states and the aim will be to come up with a strategy for each of the five states. At present the BJP is the party of choice for the people and it is evident from the results of the latest polls in different states,” BJP national general secretary Bhupender Yadav said. “Taking the party forward would form an important part of the deliberations.”
The Prime Minister will address a rally on Monday, which is part of a series of rallies planned across the state as part of the BJP’s campaign. So far, the saffron party has not declared a chief ministerial face for Uttar Pradesh, and it continues to grapple with the various options.
{{/usCountry}}The Prime Minister will address a rally on Monday, which is part of a series of rallies planned across the state as part of the BJP’s campaign. So far, the saffron party has not declared a chief ministerial face for Uttar Pradesh, and it continues to grapple with the various options.
{{/usCountry}}The city is dotted with posters of CM aspirants, Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi being the most prominent of them. Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, however, said they were put up to welcome delegates attending the executive meeting.