New Delhi:
The BJP is ready with its election campaign battle plan and is expected to announce about 15 committees to manage different aspects of the BJP's election campaign under the stewardship of Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi after 6:30 pm today.
All stakeholders, including the BJP's ideological parent, the RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliate, the VHP, are now on board after an exercise by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to iron out crinkles in the weeks after the elevation of Mr Modi as the BJP's election campaign chief.
The level of preparedness and much political activity in the party suggests that the BJP is working on the premise that general elections might be held earlier than May 2014.
Yesterday, the BJP's parliamentary board, made up of its top 12 leaders, met and after two hours of deliberations created the 15 committees which will be headed by party general secretaries and other key leaders.
BJP bigwigs like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and former party president Nitin Gadkari are likely to be given functional responsibilities in the new committees; the working of each panel will be supervised by Mr Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh.
After the parliamentary board meeting on Thursday, Mr Modi met senior leader LK Advani and party sources said such meetings would now be a regular affair. Mr Advani had publicly opposed Mr Modi's promotion last month and Mr Bhagwat had to intervene to bring him around.
Earlier this week Mr Bhagwat met Mr Modi over dinner and signed off on his campaign plan, mandating that it must also focus on the Ayodhya Ram temple issue.
Both Mr Singh and Mr Modi were advised by the RSS at their recent meetings in Nagpur to ensure that the party's campaign reflects collective leadership and does not seem like a one-man, read Modi, show.