LUCKNOW: Senior leaders of the BJP along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath huddled in Meerut on Saturday at the party's state executive meeting, drawing a roadmap to convert the challenge of the Opposition's 'grand alliance' into an opportunity for the party in the 2019 elections by targeting a vote share of 51 per cent to repeat the 2014 performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The party's two-day state executive committee meeting was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Besides a bigger vote share, a strategy to win over Dalits and backward classes for a better performance in 2019 will also be discussed.
As many as 670 members of the executive committee, along with 400 MPs and MLAs from the state, are attending the meeting.
Addressing the party leaders, CM Yogi gave a detailed account of his government's achievements, claiming he had provided 'su-shashan' (good governance) in the state by curbing anarchy, and that this was best reflected in the way investment was pouring into the state.
The meeting will conclude on Sunday with an address by party president Amit Shah.
"The real challenge, as is being seen by the top leaders of the party, we would need to transform the challenge of 'grand alliance' into an opportunity by seeking 51 per cent of the total votes," said a senior BJP leader, spelling out the party strategy to counter the Opposition's efforts to defeat the BJP.
Meerut was chosen as the venue for the meeting because western UP accounts for 14 Lok Sabha and 71 assembly seats, and the party doesn't want to take any chances in the prevailing political scenario.
In the wake of the emergence of the Bhim Army in western UP, the party's main focus would be on holding on to its Dalit vote bank.