BJP chairs meeting of party leaders, discusses plans for Ram temple event

BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday discussed with party general secretaries plans for the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, the BJP had asked all its state units to start a campaign from January 14 to ensure cleanliness of temples and their surroundings, and exhort people to join the January 22 event by offering prayers at temples in their neigbourhood.

It had also asked its state units to "help" people who want to visit the Ram temple after the consecration ceremony.

The discussions were held in a meeting at Nadda's residence here and it was attended by BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, joint general secretary (organisation) Shiv Prakash, and general secretaries Arun Singh, Tarun Chugh, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal and Sunil Bansal among others.

Senior BJP leader and Union ministers Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw were also present at the meeting.

They discussed the BJP's plans for the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and other programmes associated with the event, sources in the party said.

They said Santhosh, Bansal, Tawde, Chugh and other BJP leaders are expected to attend a crucial meeting in Ayodhya on Wednesday on the Ram temple "Darshan programme".

After the 'Pran Pratishtha' (consecration ceremony), it has to be ensured that people travelling to Ayodhya from different parts of the country and abroad for "darshan" do not face any inconvenience, the sources said.

For this, responsibilities will be given to state leaders of the party, a source said.

At the meeting, the sources said, Nadda also reviewed the BJP's preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and discussed the party's strategy for deciding names of candidates to be fielded in the elections.

After the meeting, Nadda left for a three-day visit to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. He will review preparations in the two states for the Lok Sabha polls.