New Delhi, January 21
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today asked the BJP to gear itself for the Lok Sabha elections and wanted the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states to focus on accelerating developmental activities.
At a meeting with BJP Chief Ministers from seven states at his residence here to review the performance of the party-led governments and to device a strategy to enhance the "feel good factor," Mr Vajpayee asked them to ensure that the benefit of both the Centre-sponsored schemes as well as state-funded projects reached the grassroots level.
"Mr Vajpayee had a detailed meeting with the seven BJP Chief Ministers to take stock of poll preparedness and progress in development works in the party-ruled states," BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu told newspersons.
The four-hour-long meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Mr Naidu, and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh besides the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh (Ms Uma Bharti), Rajasthan (Ms Vasundhara Raje), Chhattisgarh (Mr Raman Singh), Gujarat (Mr Narendra Modi), Jharkhand (Mr Arjun Munda), Goa (Mr Manohar Parikkar) and Arunachal Pradesh (Mr Geogong Apang).
Mr Naidu said the Prime Minister had reviewed and discussed poll preparedness, coordination between the party and the state leaders and the overall campaign strategy.
The most important advice of the Prime Minister to the Chief Ministers was to accelerate development and ensure that the benefit of various government-sponsored projects and schemes reached the grassroots level, Mr Naidu said.
While on the one hand in-depth analysis was done of the implementation of various Centre and state-sponsored programmes, on the other a thorough assessment was made of the requirements of these seven states, the BJP President said.
Replying to a question on the party's poll preparedness, Mr Naidu said the present political situation in the country was conducive for the BJP and the NDA alliance and the Prime Minister's hint at going for early elections had been received positively by the people and the party workers were upbeat.
Among the various suggestions made by the BJP Chief Ministers were bringing about a legislation to amend the restrictions imposed on any construction vide Coastal Regulatory Zone in the 500m belt from the coastline and legislation for giving "pattas" to those tribes people who were tilling in forest lands for over 20 years, he
said.
