BJP keen to spread wings, meets in Bengaluru

Riding high on becoming the world's largest political party, the BJP's national executive committee began its meeting here on Friday to take stock of its 10-month rule at the Centre and chalk out strategies to spread its wings across the country.

As it was the executive's first meeting after the BJP rode to power with an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, bonhomie and an upbeat mood marked the inaugural session at a star hotel in the city centre amidst tight security.

Party patriarch L.K. Advani shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

As the hosts for the two-day meet, the party's Karnataka unit leaders honoured Advani, Modi, Shah and Jaitley in the local style by crowning them with the famous Mysore petha (headgear), draping a shawl, garlanding and gifting a basket of fresh fruits.

After Modi inaugurated the meeting by lighting a lamp with the other three leaders on the dais, Shah addressed the party's 330-strong executive members.

The meet was not open to the media. According to party sources, Shah began his hour-long address in chaste Hindi by praising Modi for providing a corruption-free NDA government at the Centre since May 2014.

Listing out the achievements of the party and the government over the past 10 months on various fronts, including politics, economy and foreign policy, Shah claimed that ever since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power, the country got a stable government after many years and the economy has been revived.

"The economy is looking up and prices have been brought under control as evident from decline in inflation. A number of policy initiatives and administrative measures have been taken to revive growth and improve infrastructure," Shah asserted.

The meeting will deliberate over various issues, including the controversial land acquisition bill which was stalled by the opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA lacks majority.

The executive will also draw an action plan to expand the party's footprint in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and the north-east region where its presence is minimal.

"The meeting will also work out on strategies to capture power in Bihar where elections to its state assembly are due later this year," a party source said.