BJP president J.P. Nadda on Thursday held meetings with the party’s senior leaders from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to discuss organisational issues and party programmes dealing with outreach to Scheduled Caste and Tribal communities in the two States, where Assembly polls are due in 2023.
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and State incharge Muralidhar Rao, State party chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma and Minister Narottam Mishra were present at the meeting with Mr. Nadda as was BJP general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh and State general secretary (organisation) Hitanand Sharma.
“Party leaders were also told that the frequency alluding to a change in leadership in M.P. was not helping matters and that such things should not be discussed in public,” said a senior leader present at the meeting.
After losing to the Congress in 2018, the party returned to power in 2020 after winning over a chunk of its MLAs, who owed allegiance to Jyotiraditya Scindia, now a Union Minister. Coordination among the party organisation, old-timers and Ministers in the Chouhan government owing allegiance to Mr. Scindia was also flagged at the meeting, a senior leader revealed.
“Home minister Amit Shah’s recent public meeting in Madhya Pradesh in the tribal belt is a pointer to the fact that the party is looking at expanding its base in that community. A woman tribal leader may be made a minister soon,” said the source.
Chhattisgarh meeting
In the meeting on Chhattisgarh , former Chief Minister Raman Singh and State party president Vishnudeo Sai were among those who attended.
While the BJP has performed well in different bypolls in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has constantly got better of it in Chhattisgarh. While party leaders hinted that Mr. Singh may not be projected as a face in 2023, the problem of an alternative leader remains, and the organisation is also not at its best. The hunt for a face either from the OBC community like Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel or a tribal face is very much on.
Mr. Nadda had also chaired a meeting with leaders from Rajasthan, another State which is scheduled to go to the polls with Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the second half of next year.
