While a discussion on the chief ministerial candidates for states may also figure in the party's central election committee meeting -- likely to take place on Sunday after the national executive is over, indications so far are that the party is relying on projecting Modi's image and his performance during the campaign.
Ahead of the Assembly elections in five states including in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, which are being touted as mini-general elections, a two-day national executive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) beginning here on Friday will assess the ground situation and the impact of demonatization. Top party leaders including chief ministers of nine BJP ruled states and around 350 delegates from across the country are participating in the meeting.
Party sources said, while the move of banning high value notes will be hailed as an "an important step" in the "war against black money and corruption" in the economic resolution, the meeting is also believed to strategize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach to the poor and deprived. Exactly half-way through his term, Modi has cast the political die to build a new social base of "poor and lower middle class" for the party, which, since its inception was dubbed as pro-business class, Banya and Brahmin.
While a discussion on the chief ministerial candidates for states may also figure in the party's central election committee meeting -- likely to take place on Sunday after the national executive is over, indications so far are that the party is relying on projecting Modi's image and his performance during the campaign.
In Delhi and Bihar, the BJP had not projected its chief minister's candidate. But in Assam, it won comfortably by projecting Sarbananda Sonowal. When asked who would be the face of the BJP in UP, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said there is no need to project a chief ministerial candidate to take on Akhilesh Yadav. "The BJP has won many state polls without a chief ministerial face," said Singh. The party is also undecided on the chief ministerial candidate for Uttarakhand. "Sushasan" (good governance) and "Vikas" (development) is also the answer of BJP spokesman and secretary Shrikant Sharma in response to queries on the party' chief ministerial faces.
With the mood in the saffron camp being optimistic following the PM's huge rally in Lucknow and an internal surveys showing that demonetization and surgical strikes caught the imagination of electorate, the party is expected to launch a counter offensive to describe demonetization as a war against corruption. The party calculations are the difficulties relating to the shortage of the currency notes will also wane away in the coming days before the polls.
"Demonetization will be positive once its implementation is completed successfully close to the run-up to the polls," a BJP leader said. Despite the difficulties in the withdrawal of money and problems of the cash crunch, he said the people mostly welcomed the move and hence the party would rather gain when the difficulties are completely over. He said fact remains that the people have overwhelmingly approved this anti-black money drive of the PM. Though, there will be no separate resolution on demonatization and it will form part of economic resolution, the party's strategy is to move the demonetisation to the centre stage. It will ask the opposition parties to spell out their stand on "black money".
The meeting will also give impetus to the process of selection of candidates for these elections. As the nominations in Goa and Punjab are closing on January 18 and for the first phase of UP on January 24, the party is in no hurry to declare candidates. Party sources indicated that the candidates' lists will be out only after January 14 – Makar Sankranti – a day that marks the beginning of six months of auspicious period of Uttarayan for Hindus.
Two resolutions, one political and the other economic, are likely to be passed at the meet. The party chief Amit Shah will deliver the inaugural address while Modi is set to give the valedictory speech. "The political resolution is expected to focus on the surgical strikes in the aftermath of the Uri-terror attack. The cross-border operation will be hailed as a big achievement of the government," said a leader. The meeting will also enlist views of members for general budge and they will be relayed to the government.
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