NEW DELHI: In the wake of the BJP losing six Lok Sabha byelections in a row in the recent times, party chief Amit Shah has summoned key leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan for a strategy rethink, besides calling senior functionaries from Andhra Pradesh for a political roadmap in the state following the exit of the TDP from NDA.
Close on the heels of a shock defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, which were held earlier by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya respectively, the BJP chief has summoned the state in-charge Om Mathur and state general secretary Sunil Bansal.
“In the light of changing political equations in UP as seen in the Samajwadi Party bagging both the Lok Sabha seats, the BJP chief will be probing for reasons from both Mathur and Bansal. He has already spoken to the UP CM on phone. The BJP chief has set out to reverse the sentiments among the party workers since they have been talked about having been unhappy with the functioning of the state unit of the party,” sources close to the BJP chief said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has also sought an audience with the BJP chief, sources said, while adding that the state Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards to address important concerns in the run-up to the Assembly elections later this year.
Following the influential state leader Kirori Lal Meena merging his outfit — National People's Party (NPP) — with the BJP, Raje is likely to induct one of the MLAs from his outfit in her Cabinet, sources added.
The BJP had lost both the Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha bypolls recently, with the Congress bagging both the seats. The BJP chief has also summoned party functionaries from Andhra Pradesh for a huddle on Saturday, with sources saying that Shah is keen to turn his attention on the state following the exit of the TDP from the NDA camp.
“The political situations in Andhra Pradesh continue to be fluid with clear anti-incumbency factor emerging against the incumbent Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu. The BJP is now free from any compulsions to embark on the path of expanding footprints, besides exploring fresh political partnerships,” sources added. Narendra Modi has expressed concerns to Shah over BJP losing six LS bypolls.