Polls: Governance is BJP buzzword

The conclave arrived at a roadmap to elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, New Delhi, and the north-eastern states. Anticipating elections for Gujarat in the first week of December, the party has planned two crucial think-tank meetings in October and November.

Advani and Naidu will also address a key meeting of the Gujarat BJP Election Campaign and Management Committee on October 23 in Gandhinagar to give final touches to the poll strategy. This will be followed by a convention of MPs, MLAs, and MLCs at Nagpur on November 10-11 which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.

In the run-up to elections in Gujarat, the party will also intensify its Gaon Chalo Abhiyan and membership drive to reach out ‘‘to as many people as possible’’. The Abhiyan, intended to highlight the NDA Government’s achievements and expose the failures of Opposition-ruled states, will end on December 2 just before the Gujarat polls.

The conclave also decided to take the fight straight to the Congress-, Left- and RJD-ruled states with a two-pronged strategy. ‘‘The party would focus on the double standards adopted by these political parties on key national issues. The Congress supports divestment in its states, opposes it at the Centre,’’ Venkaiah Naidu said.

The party will also highlight the financial mess in Opposition-ruled states like Maharashtra and present statistics to show how Central funds pouring into these states lay unused due to inefficiency.

Naidu said: ‘‘We have told state units to take a progressively aggressive stand because the BJP was earlier in power in these states and stands a good chance of capturing power again.’’