Before the BJP’s massive election machinery begins gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls, the party’s highest decision-making body, the National Council, will meet for two days in Delhi starting Saturday to discuss and set the narrative for the elections. From panchayat leaders to Chief Ministers, about 11,500 members from across the country are expected to make their way to the Bharat Mandapam over the next two days. Party president J P Nadda is expected to kick off the two-day conclave with an address on Saturday afternoon. Senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told PTI that the council was likely to pass two resolutions: One, highlighting the prevailing political atmosphere; and two, the party's position on the economy. Apart from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the other big talking points are likely to be: the recent white paper on the UPA government tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties, the successful G20 summit in 2023, and the country's global standing. The last big meeting of the party before the parliamentary elections, the conclave will set the tone for the party’s campaign. It will be closely observed to see if the party’s stress is on just vikas (development) or if it will contest on a mix of both welfarism and Hindutva. In context: The PM has exuded confidence about the BJP winning more than 370 seats and the NDA crossing the 400 mark. Modi has said that the BJP’s “third tenure” will lay a strong foundation for “progress in the next 1,000 years”. But how do the numbers stack up? Breaking the math down, Anjishnu Das analyses that in bipolar Assembly contests against the Congress, the BJP has largely won. The BJP has also increased its seat tally and vote share in the last two elections. After winning a majority with 282 seats in 2014, it further extended its lead by 21 seats to 303 five years later. To hit Modi’s target of 370 seats this time, the BJP will need to win 67 more seats. And now for the 2024 polls, the BJP is paying special attention to the 133 seats it contested and lost in 2019. It is secure on the alliance front too. It has brought over the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD), dealing a blow to the INDIA alliance, and is said to be in talks with the Akalis in Punjab and the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh. In this set-up, the BJP will begin the conclave on a confident note on Saturday. But as Neerja Chowdhury writes in this week’s column, the BJP needs to listen to voices from across the country that want to be heard. Ignoring them, she argues, may be a mistake. Recommended reading: ‘370 seats’: The numbers behind Modi’s target, BJP’s maths, Opposition’s challenge BJP bullish on Modi govt 3.0, rhetoric shows that with reforms, Hindutva to remain on agenda Kejriwal’s strategic move After skipping summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi liquor policy case, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was supposed to appear in a city court on Saturday in connection with his no-shows in front of the central agency’s officials. But Kejriwal, who has repeatedly alleged that he is on the brink of being arrested in the case as part of a “BJP conspiracy” to topple his AAP government, interestingly tabled a vote of confidence motion in the Delhi Assembly on Friday and it will be taken up for discussion at 11 am on Saturday. While Kejriwal is expected to sail through the vote and play it up to make a political message about his strength in the Assembly, it will be more important to see how the ED and the courts proceed from here on. Kejriwal is again supposed to appear before the central agency on Monday, following his sixth summons.
