Punjab BJP chief Kewal Dhillon and state organising secretary Mantri Srinivasulu have been called to Delhi for a meeting with the party’s senior leadership on Saturday and the meeting comes a day after Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though there is no confirmation that the two developments are directly linked.
Dhillon and Srinivasulu were in Ludhiana on Saturday, where they were attending meetings with the Punjab BJP’s newly elected state body and district presidents, however, both leaders left the meetings midway and travelled to Delhi following the summons from the party’s central leadership.
A meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Punjab was also scheduled to be held in Ludhiana after the state body meeting, Dhillon and Srinivasulu, however, left before the scheduled discussions could be completed and the exact agenda of the Delhi meeting has not been officially disclosed, while sources within the Punjab BJP have indicated that the recent dissent within the state unit could be one of the issues discussed.
A section of the party is unhappy with the recent overhaul of the Punjab BJP’s organisational structure and the formation of the new executive.
Former Punjab minister Tikshan Sood and some of his loyalists have resigned from their party posts in protest against the changes.
The developments have created differences within the state unit at a time when the BJP is also preparing its political and organisational strategy for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections and another section of the party believes that the Delhi meeting could be linked to the BJP’s election planning for Punjab. The meeting may also follow up on the preliminary discussions held earlier by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the party’s Punjab leadership regarding preparations for the state polls and according to information available right now, BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh and BJP national president Nitin Nabin are expected to meet Dhillon and Srinivasulu in Delhi.
The meeting is significant as the BJP has been working to strengthen its organisational structure in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections and the recent appointments and changes within the state unit have, however, led to dissatisfaction among some party leaders and workers.
The Delhi leadership is expected to take stock of the situation in Punjab and discuss the party’s organisational and electoral plans, but for now, the BJP has not publicly stated whether the meeting will focus on the internal dissent, the recent organisational changes, election preparations, or all three issues.
