Lure disgruntled Oppn leaders to party fold: Shah to BJP men

DEHRADUN:In order to retain five Lok Sabha seats in the Lok Sabha elections, BJP national president Amit Shah on Sunday asked his party men to keep an eye on the disgruntled leaders in the opposition camp (The Congress and other parties) and try to lure them to the BJP’s fold.

BJP national president Amit Shah, along with BJP state president Ajay Bhatt and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, in Haridwar on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 24

In order to retain five Lok Sabha seats in the Lok Sabha elections, BJP national president Amit Shah on Sunday asked his party men to keep an eye on the disgruntled leaders in the opposition camp (The Congress and other parties) and try to lure them to the BJP’s fold.

The message by the national president, who was here in Dehradun and held four closed-door meetings of various party units, was loud and clear, saying “Do not allow the Opposition to get the better of you. Adopt a proactive approach to expand the base of the party further and do not shy away from targeting the disgruntled leaders in the Opposition camp. Make them members of the BJP”.

During the last Assembly elections in 2017 the BJP got a brute majority on the back of several disgruntled Congress leaders. In all, 11 Congress leaders, who left the party in the lurch and joined the BJP, won elections on the BJP ticket. Not content with the present electoral arithmetic, Shah has asked his party men to expand the party base further in the state.

However, party sources claimed that wary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on SC and ST Act in April, Shah wanted the party men to go an extra mile to woo the members of the community in the Lok Sabha polls.

The social media units were also asked to strengthen the party’s social media network in the villages by actively using all the social media platforms, including NAMO App, to spread the Modi government’s schemes and party’s message.

There was also subtle warning to the BJP leaders and party workers not to use the social media to air their grievances against the party but use it in a constructive manner.

Earlier on his arrival at the Jolly Grant airport on Sunday, the BJP president also sought the support of Swami Satyamitranand, founder of Bharat Mata Mandir and Pranav Pandya head of All-world Gayatri Parivar as part of the party’s contact for support programme.