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Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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BJP to prepare for ‘big battle’

Special Correspondent

Bid to finish exercise before 2009 polls
Wants EC to expedite delimitation process

NEW DELHI: In three months from Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party will try to organise a team of “strong” party workers for each of the estimated 15 lakh polling booths in the country. Party president Rajnath Singh will launch the programme in Madhya Pradesh on Friday

Describing it as a “maha sangram” (big battle), party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi admitted that despite its massive support-base, the BJP did not have a presence at every polling booth. This was the gap the party wanted to cover ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

The decision to take up the booth-level programme was taken at the party’s recent national executive committee meeting here.

While party Chief Ministers would participate in the programme in their States, Kalyan Singh would go to Uttar Pradesh, Ravi Shankar Prasad to Uttarakhand, Kalraj Mishra to Bihar and Arjun Munda to Jharkhand.

Mr. Naqvi said the Election Commission should expedite the delimitation exercise.

By the year-end, it should be made clear whether the next Lok Sabha polls would be fought on the basis of newly delimited constituencies or the old boundaries.

The BJP would meet the Commission on this issue.

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