LUCKNOW: A day after holding detailed sessions with the RSS functionaries and then with the party’s core committee comprising Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP national secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh and vice-president Radha Mohan Singh on Tuesday turned to state BJP organisational leaders and then met the UP ministers.
Yogi, too, was present at the meeting at the UP BJP headquarters.
The exercise was largely viewed as the saffron party’s attempt to chart out a cohesive political strategy which could be implemented at the ground level to take on an assertive opposition in the run up to UP assembly elections due next year.
Maurya presenting a saffron ‘angavastram’ to the CM.“The party leadership has stressed on stepping up the constitution of a robust organisational structure up to the booth level,” said UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, after the meeting between the two senior BJP leaders and state organisational functionaries.
The meeting, which lasted four hours, was attended by BJP’s national secretary Harish Dwivedi and party’s national treasurer Rajesh Agarwal, as well as UP BJP’s regional presidents and conveners.
The decision to ramp up organisational structure comes close on the heels of the party’s recent move of constituting a new team of office-bearers of frontal wings, and IT/social media cells.
The BJP seeks to set its new organisational team in motion to consolidate its position at the grass-roots, especially after the recent panchayat elections which saw the opposition, mainly the Samajwadi Party, posing a formidable challenge.
Singh said that the party will also focus on the matters pertaining to awareness about vaccination against Covid, other public service related issues including free food grain distribution and tree plantation.
The meeting between the two senior BJP leaders with UP ministers too attained much significance amid the party’s Central leadership stress on scaling up measures to address a host of issues including those pertaining to Covid and farmers.
The meeting was attended by senior ministers, including both deputy chief ministers — Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma — besides Suresh Khanna, Surya Pratap Shahi, Shrikant Sharma, Sidharthnath Singh, Jai Pratap Singh, Dara Singh Chauhan and Swami Prasad Maurya.
Sources said that both the senior BJP leaders underscored on the need for ministers camping in various districts where they have been appointed as in charge.
The measure was recently announced by UP BJP chief after a cabinet meeting presided over by Yogi.
The BJP leaders also stressed on meeting the target as mentioned in the `Sankalp Patra’ (BJP manifesto) of 2017 UP assembly elections.
The issue is learnt to have been taken up by Santhosh and Singh in the state BJP core committee meeting on Monday.
During their previous three days stay between May 31 and June 2, Santhosh and Singh had met the UP ministers, in what was billed as an exercise to streamline coordination between the state government and the party organisation.
Sharma attends meet called by Santhosh: Four days after he was appointed as UP BJP vice-president, former bureaucrat and PM Narendra Modi’s close aide, AK Sharma attended the meeting called by BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh and vice-president Radha Mohan Singh.
Sharma was present at the meeting of Santhosh and Singh with UP ministers along with other BJP organisational leaders including party VP Rekha Verma and national secretary Harish Dwivedi.