SHILLONG, Feb 8: Two days after BJP’s Pynthorumkhrah legislator AL Hek declared his chief ministerial ambition, the saffron party on Wednesday disapproved his views saying none can go on projecting like this as such a call is taken after a unanimous decision.
The state BJP president Ernest Mawrie has made it clear that the party is yet to identify anyone for the top post.
According to Mawrie, as per the party norms, the elected members sit after the election and unanimously select the leader.
“None can claim right now that he is a CM candidate as the leader would be elected after the election,” Mawrie said.
It’s understandable that the BJP banks highly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s crowd-pulling capability to tide over elections hurdles. Meghalaya has not been a happy hunting ground for the party as its strategies never resonated with voters in the state. Critics say BJP’s failure to groom local leaders has played a spanner to the party’s prospects in Meghalaya. In a desperate bid to drum up support, BJP is roping in a bevy of star campaigners, including PM Modi, Amit Shah, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Nitin Gadkari besides several other central leaders.
PM’s rally on Feb 18, roadshow on Feb 24
Modi, who will lead the charge, is set to address an election rally in Tura on February 18 and take part in a roadshow in Shillong on February 24, party sources said.
Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, the other party heavyweight, will be campaigning for the party from February 18.
Party sources said that Union Home Minister is likely to campaign in Raliang, Mawsynram and Ranikor besides different constituencies in Shillong.
Despite projecting itself as a force to reckon with, BJP leaders’ poll worries seem far from over. AL Hek’s projection of himself as the next CM has not gone down well with leaders. Apart from leaders, the comment has created confusion among workers, who feel, the timing is not rife for such a statement at a time when the party is struggling to keep its flock together with some party leaders switching camps. The saffron party’s quest for power seems a far cry in the state, where Congress held the sway for long and other regional parties dominated the scene in the later stage.
