BJP looks at Modi to pep up party at conclave

As the 2,200-strong BJP national executive prepares to meet on Monday, party leaders would look up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perk up the mood.

The party conclave –consisting of Parliamentarians, legislators and members of the core group- gather in Delhi at a time when the government is facing severe criticism on the state of the economy blamed largely on the successive measures of demonetization and GST rollout.

Sources said a resolution to be adopted at the conclave would assure that the harsher measures would eventually make the economy healthy and stable by purging the errors in the system.

The party would explain its leaders and workers that the sluggish condition of the economy is only a short term disturbance and it would improve in the forthcoming quarters, a general secretary said.

Before its real impact was known, the party convinced voters in Uttar Pradesh that demonetization was pro-poor, anti-rich and had cleansed the system of black money.

But as the fact emerged that the tainted money has come back into the system, the party workers need a positive message from their leaders, especially Modi, ahead of elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year and in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka in 2018.

The party is contemplating telecasting Modi’s speech live so that it reaches out to every nook and corner of the country.

While RBI figures revealed that 99% of the banned notes have returned to the banks, BJP chief Amit Shah told a gathering at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) early this month that demonetization has expanded the formal economy.