Ahead of polls, Amit Shah meets party leaders of 3 states to discuss strategy

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Sunday met his party’s leaders from Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand to discuss strategies for assembly elections in the three states due later this year.

“The core groups of the BJP in these states were called for the meeting,” a leader, who was part of the deliberations, said on condition of anonymity. “The meeting focused on organisational matters and election strategies. Shah gave them a pep talk and stressed on the need to win all three states.”

Haryana and Maharashtra will vote in October, and Jharkhand in November-December. The BJP is in power in all three states.

Another leader, who is part of the core group of one of these states, said Shah asked the state leadership to reach out to the beneficiaries of the government’s welfare schemes, who voted for the BJP in the April-May national elections. Shah also underlined that candidate selection should be without bias or favour, the leaders said.

The BJP has also begun a membership drive, which will be followed by organisational polls and the election of a new president. Shah was given an extension after his term as president ended this year. The BJP’s constitution allows him another three-year stint as the BJP chief. But he may step down as he has been appointed as the Union home minister. Shah will meet national vice-presidents, national general secretaries, state in-charges, chiefs of the state units and other senior leaders on June 13 to appoint observers for the membership drive.

With a membership base of over 100 million, the BJP is expected to set a higher target for membership enrolment this time. The national president’s election will take place once organisational polls in 50% of the states are over.