BJP bigwigs queue up for a visit to UP

The BJP has turned its attention to UP full time with party bigwigs queueing up to visit the state.To start with, party president M. Venkaia...

The BJP has turned its attention to UP full time with party bigwigs queueing up to visit the state.

To start with, party president M. Venkaiah Naidu is scheduled to meet district presidents at Lucknow on May 18.

The interactive meeting would be also attended by BJP members of the Mayawati government and other prominent leaders. Naidu will be followed by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee who would visit Lucknow on May 21.

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Not to be left behind, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani will address a rally of Muslims at Rampur on May 28. Billed as the Samrasata Rally, it would be the most significant effort by the BJP to reach out to the Muslims at the ground level.

Sources in the party said that Central leaders wanted to counter the feeling that they had given up on the state unit.

While the party is trying to retrieve lost ground in UP, emboldened by the recent electoral success in Nagaland, it has set for itself higher goals in the N-E. Naidu has convened a conference of presidents and general secretaries of all N-E states at Guwahati on June 6.

The conference will be attended by vice-president Pyarelal Khandelwal, who is in charge of the region, and Central party general secretaries.

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Naidu has drafted Central ministers for strengthening party work in all states. He has also named a five-member committee for the induction of whole-timers in to state units.