Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will set the tone for the 2019 general elections at the party’s extended national executive meet here on Monday, which will coincide with the 100th birth anniversary of party ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Unlike routine national executives that are attended by 120-odd executive members and an equal number of special invitees, this executive meeting will see the participation of 336 MPs (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and 1,400 MLAs and MLCs from all over the country. The event, to be held at the Talkatora Stadium, will also see the participation of state unit presidents, organising secretaries and also general secretaries from each state unit.
Though general elections are about two years away, BJP president Amit Shah has already put the party in election mode. He has been visiting different parts of the country, enthusing party workers. “Though the party is confident of winning the next elections comfortably, there is no scope for complacency. The next year is going to be very crucial for the party. Amit Shah is a hard task-master, trying to ensure that the organisation is fully prepared to take on the challenges,” said a BJP leader.
On Sunday, the party’s national functionaries will meet to finalise the modalities and agenda of the national executive meeting. It is believed that some of the programmes carried out under Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya birth centenary celebrations could be extended till 2019. One of the programmes which could be extended is the Deen Dayal Vistarak Yojana in which party workers voluntarily devote full time to the organisation for either 15 days, six months or one year. Sources said Modi and Shah would try to address concerns of party leaders on the state of the economy in the context of GST and demonetisation. The executive meeting is likely to pass a resolution spelling out an economic roadmap.