Farmers Movement Archive

BJP chief JP Nadda meets ministers, general secretaries, reviews preparations for 2022 polls

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda met a group of cabinet ministers and senior party leaders on Saturday to take stock of the party’s preparation for the upcoming elections in seven states, the party cadre’s readiness to tackle the anticipated third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and to improve coordination between the government and the party.According to a person aware of the details, the focus of the meeting was the state elections that are scheduled for 2022. The next set of elections in six of the seven states--Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat-- are crucial for the BJP as the party will contest to retain power with a comfortable majority. In Punjab, the party is already facing a huge challenge amid protests against the passage of controversial farm laws.Later in the day, Nadda chaired another meeting with BJP’s national general secretaries.Saturday’s meetings come close on the heels of a series of review meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the work done by various central ministries.Meanwhile, the party is also working on tackling criticism over management of the Covid-19 pandemic. “There has been an impact of the second wave on the party’s overall popularity; so all efforts will be made to reach out to the people with the details of what has been done by the government as well as what is in the pipeline,” said a functionary who did not want to be named.In UP, Uttarakhand and Gujarat particularly, the BJP governments have been facing a lot of criticism regarding Covid-19 management. Severe shortfall of oxygen, medicines and other gaps in health care were reported from these states, triggering sharp attacks from the Opposition. In Goa, too, several fatalities due to severe gaps in oxygen supply have set off public anger against the government.The party has decided to pull out all the stops to placate the masses as well as make up for the administrative lapses. Additionally, the party and the government have to also address the problems of economic slowdown and subsequent jobs cuts exacerbated by the pandemic.A second functionary said the importance of reaching out to the workers and strengthening the organisation as also discussed at the meeting. “In many states the workers too faced difficulties and there is a feeling of alienation among them. It is important to reach out to them as they are the ones who will build a bridge between the masses and the government,” the second functionary said.Nadda has already set out a blueprint for the party cadre to step up their outreach programme Seva Hi Sangathan (organisation is service) campaign to aid the government’s efforts of encouraging Covid appropriate behaviour.Saturday’s meeting was attended by the Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, railways minister Piyush Goyal, textile minister Smriti Irani, sports minister Kiren Rijiju and petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan, among others.

Hindustan Times

27-06-2021

India