New Delhi, December 20
Irrespective of whether or not the BJP plays the Hindutva card in Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll, the party has decided to use the “charisma” of Mr Narendra Modi to galvanise party cadres and cut the anti-incumbency factor ahead of elections.
According to highly-placed sources, the BJP is planning to hold a series of meetings at the mandal and zonal level in the hill state in January and February, which will be addressed by the trio of the party- President Venkaiah Naidu, General Secretary Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi.
While the mandal-level meetings will be launched soon subject to weather conditions, the zonal-level meetings will be scheduled at the end of January and early February.
Most importantly, the party would also be heavily banking on Mr Modi to resolve the evergrowing differences between the Chief Minister P K Dhumal and Union Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar.
Mr Venkaiah Naidu has already made it clear that the party will contest the next Assembly poll in Himachal Pradesh under the leadership of Mr Dhumal and it would be crucial for the party to resolve the differences between the Chief Minister and senior leader Shanta Kumar.
It is an open secret that Mr Modi as the General Secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh was instrumental in forcing Mr Shanta Kumar to the Centre and elevating Mr Dhumal for the Chief Minister’s post.
“Mr Modi, who was in charge of Himachal Pradesh for four-and-a half years before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, was instrumental in building the party cadre in Himachal Pradesh and the party will do good by taking his help,” a senior BJP leader said.
“Moreover, the recent landslide victory in Gujarat has entirely changed the political scene in the country and Mr Modi with his demonstrated ability to build an indomitable rapport with the people will have to play an important role if the party has to retain power in the hill state,” he said.
Although the stakes of the BJP is not as high as it was in Gujarat, the win in Himachal Pradesh will be crucial for it to take on the Opposition Congress in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly poll.
