Kochi: The overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Kerala has encouraged the state unit of the BJP to dream big.
With the massive participation witnessed at the Yuvam youth conclave held in Kochi on the first day of Modi’s visit, the party now wants to repeat such an event for women with the prime minister.
The BJP had already planned a women’s meet in Thrissur which was to be attended by a prominent woman minister in the Modi cabinet. However, now the shape and scale of the programme may see some changes, party insiders told Onmanorama.
A BJP leader, who was actively involved in the organisation of the PM’s Kerala programmes, said Modi himself may turn up for the women’s meet which will be held later this year. The event, which was to be attended by Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, was planned for this month. However, it has been postponed to an undecided date after the prime minister’s programme came in between.
The BJP leader Onmanorama spoke to said the prime minister has shown some interest in attending the women’s meet as he was impressed with the turnout of the youngsters at the Yuvam event. Another BJP state leader confirmed the development, and he said the state unit would definitely push for the PM’s participation at the event. The party’s goal is to bring together beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme and Kudumbashree self-help groups for the event. The ruling CPM in Kerala enjoys a strong influence among the Kudumbashree workers.
The leaders, on separate occasions, told Onmanorama that the Yuvam event was organised as part of the BJP’s strategy to woo the apolitical youth. “There’s a general trend of youth being reluctant to participate in day-to-day politics. At the same time, some studies we conducted proved that a good number of the youth admire Modi. They may not be ready to engage in the activities of the BJP or the Yuva Morcha at the moment, but we wanted to mobilise them. People in the age group of 17-35 were selected for the event. A 17-year-old student would be voting for the first time in the 2024 general elections. We want them to support BJP. Similarly, with the women’s meet we will be trying to get into the Kudumbashree ecosystem,” one of the leaders said.
The party is planning to bring together one lakh women for the event. Another event with ex-service personnel has also been planned. It will take place in Kozhikode and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest. Then there are plans for an event with the scheduled castes/scheduled tribes and other backward communities. All the events are planned with the aim of expanding the BJP’s mass base in the state.
