What Do BJP's NEC Resolutions Signal About the Parties Election Strategy?

On the heel of a mixed bag of wins and losses in the recently concluded bypolls, the Bharatiya Janta Party held their first national executive meeting since the start of the pandemic on 7 November. Though the meeting was largely devoted to applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on a range of actions, primarily COVID-19 and his intervention at the COP-26 summit, what was also front and centre was the focus on the upcoming assembly elections in early 2022. And this was pertinent from Modi’s reported exhortations at the party meeting, asking the BJP top brass and workers to become the “bridge of faith” for the common man. Party chief JP Nadda in his inaugural speech added to this, stating that the “BJP’s best is yet to come”. They also announced a “resolution for victory” in the upcoming polls. But a significant takeaway from the meeting was the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the only BJP CM to attend the meeting physically. Adding more to his profile was him presenting the parties political resolution mentioned earlier, indicating a rise in importance in the party. The saffron party also slammed the opposition on various counts like reduction in VAT on fuel and even went a step further, accusing them of “opportunism” and acting with a mindset of “extreme hate”. While the party applauded the Centre for its measures regarding farmer welfare and COVID, there was no direct mention of the contentious farm laws, CAA, nor the unclear border disputes with China. So what does this meeting tell us about the BJP’s elections strategies? What is this “resolution for victory’? To discuss this, joining me today is author and senior journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay and Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram Guest: Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author and senior journalist and Aditya Menon, The Quint's Political Editor. Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices