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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretaries at his official residence at 7, Race Course Road. The meeting discussed party organizational issues and preparedness for upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharasthra, Delhi and Jharkhand.
On Sunday, the PM is also scheduled to visit BJP national headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road to meet other office bearers, workers and office staff to thank them for their contribution in the party's victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Saturday's meeting is a precursor to the organizational overhaul the BJP will undergo in the next month or so. Many of its top office bearers are now part of the government and would be replaced. It is also an attempt to keep the party vitalized and prevent a repeat of 1999, when party weakened organizationally in several states when much of senior leadership joined the government as ministers.
This time also several of party's front ranking leaders have joined the government. Party president Rajnath Singh, three vice presidents Jual Oram, Uma Bharti and Smriti Irani and three general secretaries Ananth Kumar, Thawarchand Gehlot and Dharmendra Pradhan are now ministers in the government. Party treasurer Piyush Goyal and two spokespersons Prakash Javadekar and Nirmala Sitharaman are also ministers.
The BJP is likely to see a new president in the coming days with general secretary Amit Shah, along with general secretary J P Nadda and BJP's Gujarat unit in-charge Om Prakash Mathur in the race for the post.
Modi spent over an hour with the ten party general secretaries over breakfast and sought suggestions from them on improving governance and strengthening the party. He asked the party leaders to act as a bridge between the people and the government.
Senior BJP leaders said the party was conscious that the exodus of much of the current talent to the government could weaken the party organizationally. The meeting was to keep the party invigorated for future challenges, particularly the assembly elections in several states in the next few months. There are elections in Maharasthra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Bihar in 2014-15. The party also wants to be prepared for the assembly elections in 2016 in states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
"Inspired by motivational message from Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, at a meeting with party GSs, to serve party and nation with renewed vigour," party general secretary Varun Gandhi tweeted after the meeting. Sources said Modi asked the party general secretaries to continue to act like a bridge between the government and the common people.
The meeting also discussed mechanisms that need to be evolved to include suggestions from common people and party supporters to the government for effective and good governance.
Among the party leaders who attended Saturday's meeting were BJP president Rajnath Singh, general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal and Amit Shah, Ananth Kumar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Varun Gandhi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Thawarchand Gehlot, J P Nadda, Tapir Gao and P. Muralidhar Rao.
