Quota to be part of BJP’s meet theme

NEW DELHI: Ten per cent quota for upper castes and several other moves to reach out to different sections of the society by the Narendra Modi government are likely to be the theme for the two-day BJP national council meeting starting here on Friday, as thousands of delegates arrived here for the mega event that will set the tone for the party's Lok Sabha campaign.

PM Narendra Modi will attend the meet along with over 12000 delegates including party’s lawmakers, chief ministers, union and state ministers and district level office-bearers. Party president Amit Shah will deliver the presidential address after which the proposals will be discussed. Modi is scheduled to deliver the valedictory address on Saturday which, party leaders believe, will lay down the party’s agenda for the 2019 polls.

The passage of the bill providing 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the economically weaker sections in the general category has boosted the saffron party's morale after it suffered a blow in the recent assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states it ruled.

BJP believes that the bill will consolidate its core vote-bank of upper castes in the Hindi-speaking states.