With one eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha General elections, and another firmly set on Odisha, the BJP's National Executive meeting started in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar on Saturday to draw up a strategy to increase its political footprint through the country across all levels - "from panchayat to parliament" - and kick-start its campaign for Odisha. Leading the discussions are BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who drove down from the airport in a Range Rover sports utility vehicle to a rousing welcome. At times, PM Modi half-opened the door to stand on the SUV's stepping board to wave at the cheering crowds. Sometimes, he just got off the vehicle to greet enthusiastic party workers who had lined up along Bhubaneswar's arterial roads.
Elections