BJP gearing up to thwart campaign by Congress

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 16: With its eyes set on the panchayat poll slated for 2018, the BJP Assam pradesh has laid stress on strengthening party organizations, especially among the minority population. As if in sync with the gear up for the panchayat poll, the list of heads of 15 of the 42 boards and public sector undertakings (PSUs) of the State has been prepared. The list is likely to be announced in the last week of this month.

According to high-level sources in the party, the party’s State president Ranjit Dass is going to hold his first executive meeting at Maligaon on January 20 and 21. As usual, the office-bearers of the party will hold its meeting prior to the executive meeting on the same day at the same venue.

The holding the executive committee meeting by the State president of the party has many reasons. One of the immediate reasons to hold the meeting is the panchayat polls slated to be held in the State in 2018. This is an elephantine task for the Saffron party as the foundation of the Congress in rural areas is too strong to topple. The party, according to sources, feels that its organization in minority-domited areas in the State is not as strong as it expects. With the help of its minority morcha, the party wants to penetrate the minority population in the State. As a measure towards that end, the minority morcha of the party held a meeting at Barpeta yesterday where a large number of minority people joined the party. The Morcha is also going to hold such a meeting at Nilbagan at Hojai on Wednesday so to weaken the stronghold of the Congress in the area.

The South Kamrup District Committee of the party is also going to hold its meeting on January 22 at Goroimari where State president Ranjit Dass will remain present. This is not all. The party has a long list of programmes to strengthen its base in rural and urban areas in the State.

Another threat to the party, according to sources, is from the Congress in the post-demonetization. Riding on the negative wave on demonetization in certain sections of people in the State, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has been more active than ever before now. Also with its eyes set on the panchayat poll in the State, the Congress is working overtime to defame the BJP, both at the Centre and in the State, on the issue of demonetization and its failure on many fronts. According to sources, the State BJP executive meeting slated from January 20 is also aimed at thwarting the campaign being launched by the Congress against demonetization. It is worth mentioning here the Congress has already announced its schedule for agitation in the State on the issue of demonetization.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the list of would-be heads of as many as 15 of the 42 boards and PSUs of the State has been prepared. The mes of the chosen candidates are likely to be made public in the last week of this month.