After success in Haryana, BJP is working on modalities to build up a stronger base in Punjab.As a part of the process, the party’s newly-appointed State affairs in-charge Ram Shanker Katheria is all set to meet the State party leaders on Tuesday, who will be visiting the State for the first time after his appointment. Agra MP Katheria recently replaced senior BJP leader and Himachal Pradesh’s former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar as the Punjab party affairs in-charge.
During his two-day visit to the State, Katheria is scheduled to meet the party leaders, including party’s Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of legislative Assembly (MlAs), core committee members, party’s office bearers, besides senior leaders.
The main focus of the meetings would be to strengthen the party organisation and also to expand its base in the State. It is also expected that discussions would also be held regarding the ensuing civic body polls, scheduled to be held sometime in November or December.
“The meetings would be Katheria’s general introduction with the party’s senior leaders and office bearers, MPs, MlAs, among others. He would take stock of the current State of affairs in Punjab, and the political scenario here,” state BJP president Kamal Sharma told The Pioneer.
Katheria’s visit to the State comes at a time when BJP’s relation with its alliance partner, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has hit a rough patch in the State during recently-concluded Haryana Assembly polls.
Even as the BJP high command has assured to continue the coalition in Punjab, the State party unit has been pointing fingers at it alliance partner over one issue after another, including the drugs.
Only a day before, the State party chief Kamal Sharma had asked the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to “show political willpower to catch bigwigs involved in drug menace” in the state.
Katheria is expected to face a tough task ahead with the elections approaching for the 122 municipal councils and six municipal corporations in the state. With the BJP starting to flex its muscle after maintaining a winning streak since lok Sabha polls coupled with single-handed success in Haryana and Maharashtra, the SAD is also not expected to take everything lie down.
It would depend upon Katheria’s attitude to deal with BJP’s alliance partner to decide whether the two would contest civic body polls together amicably or fight it out over seat-sharing. “Katheria will attend the party’s core committee meeting in the afternoon, and then another meeting would be held in the evening where the office bearers, district in-charges, in-charge of cells and various morchas and MPs would participate,” party sources said.
As of now, there was no information whether Katheria would meet Chief Minister Badal or his deputy son and SAD president Sukhbir Badal.
BJP TO FOCUS ON UNEXPlORED TERRITORIES
In no mood to play second fiddle anymore, the state unit of the saffron party has decided to focus on the areas that have remained untouched, so far, in Punjab.
With civic body polls on its mind, the BJP is primarily focusing on reaching out to a total of 12673 villages across the state, and not only limiting itself to the cities and towns.
For the purpose, the party is aiming at bringing under its umbrella maximum number of people, especially the youth, by means of its membership drive — both personal and online.
“Our main attention is currently on the membership drive. We are aiming at including maximum number of people. In fact, I think after the tremendous performance of the Narendra Modi government with just five to six months in the office, this year’s membership figure is going to surpass all previous records,” said the state BJP president Kamal Sharma.
He said that the party would reach out to every citizen of the state, people from all walks of life, cover different strata of society.
To train the party cadre for the membership drive, a workshop would be organized on Wednesday at party’s head-office in Chandigarh.“The party would largely focus on the areas or sections where the party has no comprehensive base…among others, effort would be made to include more and more youngsters,” said Sharma.