BHUBANESWAR: Buoyed by the overwhelming success in the recently concluded panchayat polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to hold the next meeting of the party's national executive committee in Bhubaneswar on April 15 and 16.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and several other Union ministers besides the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruling states are scheduled to attend the two-day event.
Speaking to mediapersons after his arrival from New Delhi on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan informed that senior BJP leaders L K Advani and M M Joshi would also attend the party's national executive committee meeting.
The Prime Minister and National President of the party will express their gratitude to the people of the state for their support to the party in the three-tier panchayat elections.
On a high after the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand feat and formation of government in Manipur and Goa, an upbeat BJP is now making an increased focus on Odisha where Assembly election will be held along with general election in 2019.
The BJP's national executive committee meeting in the state shortly after the panchayat election is a well crafted move by Shah, the chief architect of the party's stupendous success in Uttar Pradesh. The state is also part of the 'look east' policy of the Prime Minister.
The proposed meeting of the party will put Odisha in sharp focus in the view of the presence of Prime Minister for two days. Besides, the presence of Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states will be an added attraction, sources in the party said.
The BJP, which is holding its national executive committee meeting after two decades, is likely draft a clear cut strategy for Odisha where it has emerged as a rising force by increasing its tally from 36 Zilla Parisad seats in 2012 to 297 in 2017.
BJP's Odisha in-charge Arun Singh and national joint secretary (organisation) Soudan Singh are visiting the State on Sunday to hold preparatory meeting with the state leadership for the proposed national executive meeting, Pradhan said.