Ahead of the winter session of state assembly, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called a crucial meeting of party MLAs on Friday to discuss issues to be raised in the house and counter the Opposition’s attack on subjects like Bhavantar scheme, gang rape and poor health conditions across the state.
The meeting would also discuss responsibility for ministers and MLAs in Mungaoli and Kolaras, where bypolls are slated for next month. The chief minister has hinted at a possible cabinet expansion in the coming fortnight before officially launching the election campaign for 2018 assembly elections.
“The BJP has given the slogan of “Abki baar, 200 paar” for the coming assembly polls and decided to allocate responsibilities to the ministers and MLAs, who are performing well in their areas. The party would also decide strategy to counter the Congress attack in the house during the winter session,” said a state BJP functionary. Sources said that the chief minister has asked MLAs to compulsorily participate in the meeting at his official residence, which is likely to begin in the evening to be followed by dinner.
The chief minister recently assigned responsibility to four ministers each for Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly constituencies to erode the Congress influence.
Two senior leaders and a Rajya Sabha member have also been appointed to monitor and plan strategy during elections in the area. BJP sources said the election management team also collected data for the campaigners and prepared a list of topics for which the party would launch a massive publicity campaign.
“Some MLAs always embarrass the government by raising sensitive issues in the house. Besides, there is discontentment among legislators over delay or non-execution of schemes in their constituencies. Issues of internal strife during the Chitrakoot bypoll are also likely to be discussed,” said party sources.
As the chief minister plans to expand his team, the meeting which is likely to be attended by state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan, organisation general secretary Suhas Bhagat and joint general secretary Atul Rai would also discuss names of probable candidates likely to be inducted in the cabinet. Sources in BJP disclose that the party’s national leadership has also suggested to select representatives from three main districts where Congress has its influences despite the Modi wave in 2014. The party has also roped in senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to plan a detailed tour programme to reduce Congress impact in the area.
This is third such occasion after BJP’s debacle in Ater bypoll in Bhind when the party called a joint meeting of MLAs to counter Congress strategy. Earlier, during farmers’ unrest in Mandsaur, Chouhan had called the MLAs to quell the agitation allegedly launched at the instance of Congress leaders.
The party will also decide how to go in public with allegations of irregularities in Bhavantar scheme and women safety issues, sources added.
