Four Union mins to attend annual Sivagiri pilgrimage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as four Union ministers will attend the annual Sivagiri pilgrimage, scheduled on December 30, 31 and January 1. "Having an OBC Prime Minister has given the community a sense of belonging with the BJP. The party is finding more acceptability here, which is why the Union ministers have been invited to attend the event," said BJP state president V Muraleedharan.Last year, Narendra Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, was the chief guest for the annual event.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the 82nd Sivagiri Pilgrimage conference on December 31. The pilgrimage programmes will be inaugurated by governor P Sathasivam on December 30, which will be attended by Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Ramvilas Paswan and labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya. Twelve conferences will be held over the three days and the speakers include MoS civil aviation Mahesh Sharma, chief minister Oommen Chandy, and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien.
BJP national president Amit Shah who was in the state last week to take stock of the ongoing membership campaign urged the state leadership to catch and ride the favorable winds for the party at the centre. His target is to enroll at least 35 lakh people in the state during the membership campaign that ends in March.
According to latest figures, over 1.60 lakh people have joined the party. The BJP will start house to house campaign in January, said Muraleedharan.
"Last time, less than 40% seats were contested by the BJP in the local body elections, this time we will contest from all the seats and expect around 30% increase in vote share; preparations have begun with that target in mind," he said.
During the review of general election results, the BJP state leadership concluded that they could win the vote of Nair community in many seats. "If a part of Ezhava votes can also be won, success is not far away," the review is learnt to have concluded.