Bhopal: With around 15 months left for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have geared up to strengthen their district and block level party cadres.
This week, both the national parties will hold meetings of their district level leaders and workers. While the BJP has decided to hold a three-day (August 24 to 26) training session at Hill station Pachmarhi, the Congress has called its district level party workers and their in-charges at party headquarters on August 25.
Sources told IANS that after the loss of nine mayoral posts in the recently concluded municipal elections, the state BJP leadership has decided to take its cadre out of Bhopal for a training session. During the session, district presidents and the leaders who were in-charges of a particular district, will submit their reports with reasons for loss in the elections.
Sources also said that after the local body elections, the BJP’s local workers have expressed their disappointment and alleged that the district in-charges and district presidents did not pay any heed to the grievances of the local workers. Many workers had approached party president V.D. Sharma in Bhopal and demanded an immediate action in the matter.
After the results of local body polls were announced last month, the state BJP leadership did celebrate its victory with full enthusiasm, but the loss in nine mayoral posts out of 16, including Gwalior, Morena and Rewa have alarmed the leadership.
It is pertinent to mention that BJP has sent two party leaders (Narendra Singh Tomar and Jyotiraditya Scindia) from Gwalior-Chambal region to the Union Cabinet and has as many as nine ministers from the same regions in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet. Despite this, the saffron party lost both Gwalior and Morena mayoral seats.
Similarly, in Rewa district, where the BJP has eight MLAs and also an MP, the party lost the mayoral post after 25 years. Sources said that the local party workers have expressed their disappointment, which is worrying the state leadership now. And this is the reason the party has decided to take all the district presidents and in-charges to Pachmarhi for a training session.
During a party meeting earlier, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party’s state chief V.D. Sharma had asked the MLAs and other leaders, who are in-charges of districts, to submit their progress reports by August 24. In the meeting, which was attended by all the BJP MLAs and ministers, Chouhan had said that those betrayed will be punished.
“The party leadership is upset with those leaders and workers who betrayed during the local body elections and caused loss of BJP’s candidates. Many who were upset due to ticket distribution, either had contested the elections independently or had supported the opposition. The party has prepared a list of such leaders and workers and they would be exposed during the training session in Pachmarhi,” said a BJP spokesperson in condition of anonymity.
The Congress has asked its district presidents and district in-charges to be present in the meeting on August 25. Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Kamal Nath will chair the meeting at the party headquarters and they will be instructed to strengthen the party at the booth level.
“During the meeting, district presidents and in-charges will submit their reports to Kamal Nath,” said Abbas Hafeez, a senior Congress spokesman.
–IANS
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