PM's doors open for separatists keen to join mainstram: Ram Madhav

Party general secretary fine-tunes election preparedness in J&K, Jharkhand

The top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including party President Amit Shah and senior leader Arun Jaitley, was in Ranchi on Tuesday to oversee the party’s election preparedness and unveil its manifesto for the Jharkhand Assembly polls. In Jammu, a team of 150 BJP workers, including its social media “soldiers”, started their spadework for the upcoming Assembly elections.

In Srinagar, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said the doors of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be open for separatists wishing to join the national mainstream. “We welcome all to join the efforts of the prime minister for the development of J&K. Through separatism, you (separatists) are meeting the prime minister of Pakistan or its high commissioner here. You (separatists) give up separatism and join the national mainstream; the doors of the prime minister are open for you,” said Madhav, BJP’s J&K in-charge. On Monday, Modi had met Kashmiri leader Sajjad Lone in New Delhi.

Madhav said the state’s development is high on the prime minister’s agenda and all “well-intentioned” people, for whom the development of Kashmir is of prime importance, should come forward to join his efforts. He added the party is contesting the Assembly polls on its own and Lone's meeting with Modi should not be seen as that of having a pre-poll alliance. “Be clear that we are contesting the elections on our own. We are contesting on many seats in the state and we hope to win maximum number of them, both in Jammu and Kashmir divisions, including Ladakh. The talk of alliances and all will only be after the polls. Our aim is to relieve the state of dynastic rule of both the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party," he said.

According to a PTI report, the BJP national general secretary evaded questions on the party's demand of revocation of Article 370, saying, “BJP’s state unit will come out with a manifesto and you will get answers to those questions once it is out.”

In Jammu, BJP leader and Union minister Jitendra Singh said, “All issues (including Article 370) which have been part of the BJP manifesto all these years will be part of the agenda." Singh inaugurated the BJP Media Centre here for its ‘Mission 44+’.

"But in each election at each given time, you have to prioritise and you have to go by the aspiration of the people. The aspiration of the people as of now, in 2014, in November and December, when we go to the polls, is to liberate this state and people from years and years of poor governance, corruption and misappropriation of Central funds,” said Singh.

Polling in Jharkhand and J&K is scheduled to take place in five phases starting November 25. The fifth phase is on December 20 and the counting of votes is on December 23. Party sources said the team of 150 IT professionals and party strategists, drawn from its state units, contributed significantly to the BJP’s good performances in Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections.

These mid-level party workers have been allotted specific constituencies in Kashmir, Ladakh, Poonch, Jammu and Chenab valley areas, and will be stationed there until the end of the polls, and they will give feedback to senior leaders, especially Amit Shah, on the demography and issues specific of their respective constituencies.

In Ranchi, Shah and Jaitley unveiled the party manifesto with a focus on the state’s development. The party has a pre-poll alliance with All Jharkhand Students Union for the 81-member Assembly.

Notably, in Delhi, which is likely to witness elections early next year, the BJP has asked its leaders and workers to campaign in trendier outfits other than just in their traditional kurta-pyjama to reach out to the youth.

WOOING JHARKHAND
The BJP manifesto for the Jharkhand Assembly polls was released. Here’s a look at some promises:

• 35 kg rice/wheat at Rs 1 a kg to Below Poverty Line families
  

 

Free medicines to all in government hospitals
 

Education loans to all at 1% interest
 

Free technical education to backward, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students
 

Concessions and facilities to set up industrial clusters
 

Laptops/tablets to all when they take admission in college
 

60% of the state budget to be allocated for agriculture & rural development
 

Interest waiver on old loans of farmers, new loans at 2% interest
 

Set up agricultural development commission, farmer welfare fund
 

Guaranteed purchase of produce at minimum support price
 

Employment guarantee to matriculates from scheduled tribes

 

Two-bedroom house to every family by 2022