BJP’s national meet to focus on terror threat

Dedicated to party’s ideologue Deendayal Upadahyay and his philosophy of “Integral Humanism,” the BJP’s three-day long national council meeting in Kerala is beginning from Friday. The meet will see discussion on coming Assembly elections, “Garib Kalyan” agenda for the marginalised including among dalits and OBCs and will also send a strong message to Pakistan over the Uri terror attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally on September 24, his first address after the Uri attack which left 18 Army personnel dead. BJP president Amit Shah, who reached Kozhikode on Thursday, will hold separate meetings of national general secretraies and national office bearers on Friday.

“Reached ‘Shilpa Nagaram’- City of Sculptures (Kozhikode) for BJP National Council. Grateful to the people of Kerala for their love and support,” Mr Shah tweeted. Another issue that could see BJP leadership taking on the state’s ruling Left-led government, is attack on the RSS and BJP supporters allegedly by the Left cadre. This issue was part of the BJP-led NDA’s campaign strategy during the Assembly election in the state held earlier this year.

With an eye on coming Assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Gujarat among others, Mr Modi is expected to announce a year-long programme to make marginalised self reliant, as part of the “Garib Kalyan” agenda. UP, Punjab and Gujarat have a major concentration of dalits and OBCs.

This announcement could be made on Upadhyay’s birth anniversary on September 25, when the party is holding its national council meeting. BJP has also organised a “reunion” of those who had participated in the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) 1967 Kozhikode meet where Upadhyay was elected its chief. BJS was the precursor of the BJP.

The Prime Minister and Mr Shah will also attend a programme ‘Smruthi Sandhya’ at the Zamorin’s High School at Tali on September 24.

BJP top brass is also expected to deliberate over party’s election strategy assembly including for Uttar Pradesh where the party is out of power for over 14 years. Mr Shah had claimed that the BJP will make a come back with two-third majority in UP which is currently under the Samajwadi Party rule.