This time Narendra Modi kept his appointment with party colleagues at the inaugural session of the National Executive and Council meeting in Surajkund near Delhi today. Whether or not he will be the party’s chosen leader for the next Lok Sabha polls, one thing is clear: he is clearly the most sought-after leader who has the pulse of party workers.
Modi is aware of his stature among his party colleagues, high and low, but he keeps changing his sartorial style. He discarded his trademark half-sleeve kurta for the occasion and chose a cream-coloured buttoned full sleeve kurta.
The BJP’s three-day conclave had started at the designated time of 11 am. But a group of party leaders and workers waited patiently outside main entrance. Their leader had not arrived yet. Unlike two previous National Executive meetings, when the suspense over his presence virtually hijacked the official agenda in terms of media headlines, this time he was coming for sure but had got delayed for about half-an-hour.
In a brief intervention at the meeting, Modi blasted the UPA government over the rationing of LPG cylinders. Expressing indignation over the Centre’s “unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right” to distribute cooking gas through the state’s own gas pipeline network, he said Gujarat was the only state which had set up a 2,200 km gas grid with a view to making cooking gas available at cheaper rates compared to LPG cylinders provided by the Centre.
However, on the one hand, the Centre was multiplying the costs of crores of Gujarati households by rationing LPG cylinders, and, on the other, it was not allowing Gujarat to lay more gas distribution pipelines to provide gas at cheaper rates, he said.
He left the task of outlining the party’s electoral preparedness in the state—where elections are due in November-December—to another senior leader from the state, Purshottam Rupala. Having made his appearance and points, he left for Mumbai to attend “a pre-scheduled” function. He will return to the party conclave tomorrow afternoon and also be there for the following day’s deliberations and public rally.
A much larger body, the BJP National Council, comprising over 1,500 members, will meet onSept 27 and 28. Sept 25’s National Executive had a much smaller composition, around 150 members. Modi’s intervention is expected to be more prolonged when the proceedings are open and is done before the larger national council meeting.
The party has finalised its two slogans for Gujarat and Himachal assembly elections. For Gujarat, the slogan is: Sabka saath, sabka vikas (inclusive growth). For Himachal Pradesh – it’s Kaho dil se, BJP phir se
At around 11.30 am, there was a sudden commotion at the gates of the Surajkund meeting place on the Delhi-Haryana borders. “Hero Modiji has arrived,” a party worker shouted enthusiastically. The ordinary workers kept on falling and pushing each other to exchange greetings with the party strongman.
Modi is aware of his stature among his party colleagues, high and low, but he keeps changing his sartorial style. He discarded his trademark half-sleeve kurta for the occasion and chose a cream-coloured buttoned full sleeve kurta.
The BJP’s three-day conclave had started at the designated time of 11 am. But a group of party leaders and workers waited patiently outside main entrance. Their leader had not arrived yet. Unlike two previous National Executive meetings, when the suspense over his presence virtually hijacked the official agenda in terms of media headlines, this time he was coming for sure but had got delayed for about half-an-hour.
In a brief intervention at the meeting, Modi blasted the UPA government over the rationing of LPG cylinders. Expressing indignation over the Centre’s “unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right” to distribute cooking gas through the state’s own gas pipeline network, he said Gujarat was the only state which had set up a 2,200 km gas grid with a view to making cooking gas available at cheaper rates compared to LPG cylinders provided by the Centre.
However, on the one hand, the Centre was multiplying the costs of crores of Gujarati households by rationing LPG cylinders, and, on the other, it was not allowing Gujarat to lay more gas distribution pipelines to provide gas at cheaper rates, he said.
He left the task of outlining the party’s electoral preparedness in the state—where elections are due in November-December—to another senior leader from the state, Purshottam Rupala. Having made his appearance and points, he left for Mumbai to attend “a pre-scheduled” function. He will return to the party conclave tomorrow afternoon and also be there for the following day’s deliberations and public rally.
A much larger body, the BJP National Council, comprising over 1,500 members, will meet onSept 27 and 28. Sept 25’s National Executive had a much smaller composition, around 150 members. Modi’s intervention is expected to be more prolonged when the proceedings are open and is done before the larger national council meeting.
The party has finalised its two slogans for Gujarat and Himachal assembly elections. For Gujarat, the slogan is: Sabka saath, sabka vikas (inclusive growth). For Himachal Pradesh – it’s Kaho dil se, BJP phir se
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