Amit Shah to craft strategy for UP poll amid Cabinet rejig buzz

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21

Home Minister Amit Shah will craft a strategy for the high-stake elections to the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly scheduled next year, sources said following a meeting of the top central leadership in Delhi on Thursday, where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too was in attendance.

Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda met Adityanath along with state president Swatantra Dev Singh and general secretary Sunil Bansal to discuss “poll preparedness, party’s upcoming programmes and public response to the Jan Ashirvad Yatra”. However, the meeting also regenerated the buzz regarding the expansion of the Adityanath Cabinet by “August-end”. A senior leader in the know of developments said the “expansion and appointments to the MLC and corporations (if at all) would be done after Raksha Bandhan by August-end”.

“Though the state unit “is not in favour of the expansion, given the acrimony it may create among those left out”, the central leadership appears to be in its favour and wants some prominent Brahmin and OBC faces included in the Adityanath Cabinet and vacant MLC posts to be filled, the sources added

The names of Jitin Prasada, Laxmikant Bajpai and AK Sharma, a confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and some from the NDA allies like the Nishad Party and the Apna Dal are doing the rounds in this context.

Nadda to reach out to party cadres

• The BJP is launching a massive membership drive with the aim to add 2 crore members from the state. Next week, BJP chief JP Nadda is expected to address party cadres and interact with booth and sector heads in the state.
• The party will also start ‘panna pramukh’ conferences in September to activate the cadres. It plans to appoint ‘prabhari’ in every constituency, activate cadres, enrol more members.

Poll preparedness, party’s upcoming programmes discussed

• Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda met Adityanath along with state president Swatantra Dev Singh.
• They discussed “poll preparedness, party’s upcoming programmes and public response to the Jan Ashirvad Yatra”.
• However, the meeting also regenerated the buzz regarding the expansion of the Adityanath Cabinet.