Date:04/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/04/stories/2004020402930400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

BJP State executive meet at Tirupati on February 13

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI, FEB. 3. Following the successful conduct of its national executive at Hyderabad last month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to hold its State executive meet at the temple town of Tirupati on February 13. It will be followed by similar meetings at Karimnagar (February 15) and Bhimavaram (date not yet fixed) to cover the North Telangana and coastal Andhra districts.

As the Tirupati meet will be the first ever programme to be attended by the party's national president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, after assuming office for the second consecutive term on February 6, the hosts Chittoor (East) district unit is keen on making it a success. Union Ministers from the State, B. Dattatreya, U.V. Krishnam Raju and Ch. Vidyasagar Rao would also take part.

A huge rally is being organised on the occasion in which party functionaries and activists of Chittoor, Nellore, Anantapur, Cuddapah and Kurnool districts will participate in large numbers. The party's State general secretary and spokesperson, G. Kishen Reddy, held a meeting of Rayalaseema and Nellore district units here on Tuesday to review the arrangements for the meet.

Projecting the rally as the "biggest ever in the BJP's history in the southern half of the State," he asked the district units to mobilise huge crowds. Later addressing mediapersons, Mr. Reddy said that the tide was clearly in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which would form the Government again at the Centre. He described the victory in the recently-concluded polls in three states as a `semi-final' and that the party was fit to face the finals.

While the BJP was clear on its poll plank and parties with which to join hands, Mr. Reddy derided the Congress of being in a state of vacillation on issues on which to face the electorate. Also in its desperate bid to cobble up an alliance, the Congress was getting ready to join hands with ideologically incongruent parties, he charged.

Disagreeing with the view that the party was making an issue of Sonia's foreign origin during elections, he said that it was part of the party's ideology and a matter of self-respect for every citizen. The BJP's "feel-good factor'' would be that of the nation's in future, he said.