After massive victory in Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is eyeing to repeat its success in Assembly elections and the party has even started preparations for it. Senior BJP leader Om Prakash Mathur and Bihar Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav have been appointed as election in-charges of Jharkhand. Yadav, after assuming charge as election co in-charge of Jharkhand BJP on Tuesday, attended the BJP core committee meeting at Chief Minister’s residence.

The core committee meeting apart from Yadav was attended Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, State BJP president Laxman Gilua, BJP organizational secretary Dhrampal Singh, BJP state general secretary Deepak Prakash among others. At the BJP core committee meet, progress in the ongoing BJP membership drive was assessed.

A senior BJP leader requesting anonymity said, “At the core committee meet, the performance of BJP in membership drive was assessed. Respective cells and units who have been given the task of membership drive as assessed. Those cells (Manchs) which are lagging behind in membership drive were given directions to speed up their membership drive as the target of 30 lakh members ahead of year-end Assembly elections is achieved.”

At the core committee meet, the leaders stressed on achieving the target of 30 lakh members based for making the BJP target of 65 plus seats in Jharkhand achievable. At the meeting BJP state unit president Gilua said, “The target 65 plus seats in Jharkhand is not tough for party. In Lok Sabha elections the party won 12 Lok Sabha seats. If Assembly-wise analysis is done on these Lok Sabha seats than the party can easily win 60 plus seats, if the AJSU party winning seat is also taken into consideration than the party can easily win 65 plus seats.”

As this was the first core committee of BJP after appointment of two election in-charges, Nand Kishore Yadav went through the various aspects of BJP poll preparations. Yadav, a senior BJP leader from Bihar, has been representing Patna Sahib in Assembly for five consecutive terms. He, apart from holding plum portfolio in Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet, was also Leader of Opposition when BJP and JDU parted ways for a brief period.

Sources said that Yadav’s association with Jharkhand is old. During united Bihar, Yadav from 1983 to 2000 had held various posts in Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha and BJP and during this time he used to visit various districts of Jharkhand frequently. Sources said that as Yadav used to visit Jharkhand frequently he used to know many leaders of BJP personally.

Sources said that within a month this is second core committee meet of BJP in Jharkhand.

On July 13-14, when BJP working president JP Nadda visited Jharkhand he held a meeting of the core group of the state BJP discussing the party’s preparation and candidates for the upcoming assembly elections.