Mission 2019: Shah to meet BJP CMs

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 18

Taking forward his party’s “mission 2019”, BJP president Amit Shah has called a meeting of the chief ministers of party-ruled states.

Sources said party chiefs of the non-BJP ruled states would also attend the meeting, which is likely to take place on Monday evening.

They said CMs and the state chiefs had been asked to give a presentation on how they plan retain the party’s existing Lok Sabha constituencies in their respective states and win the “120 seats” Shah is believed to have shortlisted to achieve a “record victory margin” in 2019.

While a majority of these 120 constituencies are in states— West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the Northeast where the party’s position is still weak, apparently some of them also belong to the kitty of its allies. Largely, these are the seats where the BJP has never won, or at best came second.

Shah’s roadmap for a bigger victory margin in 2019 includes active participation of Central ministers and leaders. Expectedly, CMs and state heads would be asked to launch intensive campaigns to propagate development works of the Modi government, activate cadres and assist in tapping these 120 seats.

To increase base, Shah has been assessing organisational strength of the party in all states. Though he has been holding such review meetings with CMs on a regular basis, this one coincides with the reality check he has been undertaking ahead of the 2019 poll.

It goes without saying that the next two years are critical for the party. Seven states — Gujarat, HP (November-December), Meghalaya (February) Karnataka (April-May next year), MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan (September-October 2018) — will also go to polls before the 2019 LS poll. Four out of these seven are currently with the BJP, which is battling massive anti-incumbency to retain them.