Gandhinagar, March 18 (IANS) The Gujarat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced the constitution of a state-level core group, the Pradesh Sankalan Samiti, as part of its preparations for the forthcoming local self-government elections.

The committee was announced by State BJP President Jagdish Vishwakarma following consultations with the party’s national leadership and advisory board.

Its members include Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Vishwakarma, Union Minister C. R. Patil, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, State General Secretary (Organisation) Ratnakarji, Minister Jitu Vaghani, Minister Rushikesh Patel, Scheduled Tribe Morcha President and MLA Ganpatsinh Vasava, Minister Darshana Vaghela, former minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former minister I. K. Jadeja.

The announcement came on the day a state-level organisational meeting was held at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Vishwakarma, in the presence of State Organisation General Secretary Ratnakarji and State Election Management Committee in-charge Gordhan Zadafia, along with state office-bearers, campaign presidents and general secretaries, members of the state election management committee, and district as well as city leaders.

According to the party’s state unit, Vishwakarma provided detailed guidance on organisational preparedness and micro-planning for the elections, covering arrangements from district and city units down to booth levels.

He said the party would undertake a door-to-door outreach campaign.

“With the report card of the BJP’s work and the development carried out in Gujarat under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, a vast army of workers of the BJP will conduct door-to-door contact,” he said.

He also emphasised strengthening internal coordination, stating that “communication, contact and coordination must be further strengthened through travel, outreach and hard work,” while interacting with leaders on pre-election preparations at district, city and mandal levels.

Ratnakarji said the party would contest the elections with full organisational strength.

“The BJP in Gujarat has established a tradition of exemplary victories in every election, and to carry forward this tradition, the party will enter the electoral field with full strength,” he said.

He said a mega contact campaign would be launched to reach households and further strengthen public outreach, and also provided guidance on implementing a precise and effective election strategy.

State Election Management Committee in charge, Gordhanbhai Zadafia, said preparations were underway ahead of the expected announcement of the local body polls.

“The announcement of the upcoming local self-government elections is expected soon, and BJP workers are prepared to secure a resounding victory,” he said, adding that party workers are trained to be ready for Assembly, Lok Sabha and local body elections.

He described local self-government institutions as “the lifeline of democracy”.

Zadafia said meetings related to election management at the district and mandal levels would be completed by March 26.

He also said that on March 29, a statewide ‘Mann Ki Baat Tiffin Ke Saath’ programme would be organised at the booth level as part of outreach linked to the Prime Minister’s address.

He added that the party would mark its foundation day on April 6 and celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 14.

The party said the formation of the ‘Pradesh Sankalan Samiti’ is aimed at ensuring coordination among senior leaders and organisational units as it prepares for the upcoming elections across local self-government institutions in Gujarat.

–IANS

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