BJP leaders of eastern, NE states meet in Guwahati; 142 Lok Sabha seats in focus

The meeting is also likely to discuss the assembly elections in Mizoram, which would be due later this year.

Guwahati: Senior BJP leaders of 12 states in east and northeast India met in Guwahati on Thursday to strategise on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The meeting is being attended by BJP's national general secretary BL Santosh, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Tripura CM Manik Saha, party MPs and MLAs, and state unit presidents, among others.

Strengthening the organisation and election strategy were among the key issues that will be discussed at the day-long meeting, BJP's Assam president Bhabesh Kalita told reporters. "Our goal is to ensure the return of Narendra Modi as the prime minister for the third consecutive term and we are working towards that end," he told reporters before the meeting.

BJP's in-charge for Assam Baijayant Panda said his party does not prepare only before the elections but stays in touch with the people throughout the year. "This particular meeting will discuss organisational issues in all state units in the east and northeast," he added.

Before the meeting, the BJP leaders paid their obeisance to Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee on the occasion of his birth anniversary at the party's state headquarters. There are a total of 142 Lok Sabha seats in these 12 states and in 2019, BJP won 68 of them.

The eight northeastern states have a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats with Assam having the highest of 14. Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura have two seats each, while Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim have one seat each. Among the eastern states, West Bengal has 42 seats, Bihar has 40 seats, Odisha has 21 and Jharkhand has 14 seats.

The meeting is also likely to discuss the assembly elections in Mizoram, which would be due later this year. BJP leaders of the northern, central and western states will meet in New Delhi on July 7, and those of the southern states in Hyderabad on July 8. (PTI)