Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine is leaving no stone unturned to let Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi take the State by storm.
It is all set to hold a series of meetings to ensure maximum presence in Modi's rally to be held on February 23 at Jagraon in ludhiana district.
Aiming at making Modi’s rally the “largest political rally ever held in India”, the SAD-BJP coordination committee on Monday directed its district level coordination committees to conduct meetings to ensure maximum turnout.
The coalition is looking at the figure of five-lakh at the rally of its Prime Ministerial candidate.
Besides, SAD patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal along with his deputy son and SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and State BJP president Kamal Sharma would tour the entire State.
The trio would hold zonal meetings at around six places where strategies would be chalked out, plans would be prepared, besides issuing instructions for the leaders of that particular area to ensure success of the rally.
The decisions were taken during the four-hour-long meeting of the SAD-BJP coordination committee on Monday, which also deliberated upon issues ranging from 2014 lok Sabha polls, Congress’ chain hunger strike seeking CBI probe into multi-crore drug racket case, appointment of improvement trusts heads, tax concessions,
among others.
The meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister Badal, discussed the forthcoming lok Sabha elections and made an action plan to register victory at all 13 parliamentary seats in the State.
However, it has been learnt that the alliance partners did not take up for discussion the issue of swapping seats or making any changes in the settled seat sharing arrangement between the two.
Sources also informed that it was also decided in the meeting that development funds will be released for urban areas — primarily the BJP’s vote bank, and “controversial” property tax would also be rationalised.
The saffron party has all along been crying foul over the dearth of funds provided by the coalition government for the areas represented by it which mainly consist of urban areas, as compared to the funds utilised for the developmental works for SAD-dominated areas — though in whispers.
Even as many issues were talked about, Modi’s rally dominated the meeting. Termed as Fateh Rally, as it is expected
to sound the poll bugle in
the State.