Opposition may gather 15,000 people but ballot will decide fate of govt: BJP

File photo: Union minitister Kiren Rijiju

NEW DELHI: BJP is banking on twin planks of combativeness and persuasion directed at the opposition and the masses, respectively, as it looks to step up its nationwide mobilisation of people in the coming days, with top organisational functionaries and Union ministers Thursday giving shape to the party’s strategy ahead of INDIA bloc’s rally on Nov 1.“If they (opposition), for the sake of showing power, can gather 15,000 people at one place, we can gather much bigger crowds in many places the same day. But this cannot decide the fate of govt as it is for voters to do through ballot boxes,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju said after attending the BJP meeting chaired by its president Nitin Nabin.Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw; ex-minister Dharmendra Pradhan; and party members were present in the day-long meeting to finalise upcoming programmes.Party members were given literature carrying details of SIR of electoral rolls, a move aimed at disseminating the “facts” of the contentious exercise slammed by Congress, its allies and some activist groups as Election Commission’s bid to favour the governing alliance and denting the opposition.

Nabin expressed confidence that BJP’s rivals will bite the dust. “BJP’s ideology has found so much acceptance that even those who do not vote for it acknowledge that only PM can lead the nation in the right direction,” he said.

While BJP has zeroed in on seven outreach modes, including press conferences and interactions involving eminent citizens and the youth in nearly 800 places across country, mobilisation of a large number of people through “padyatra” (foot marches) in cities is its key instrument to blunt the opposition’s move to raise the heat on Election Commission and govt through its similar measures and rallies.