The BJP wants no distractions at its chintan baithak in Himachal Pradesh between August 19 and 21. The meeting is supposed to debate what went wrong for the party in the Lok Sabha polls.
The venue will be the campus of the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), said a top source in the state government. The campus is in the middle of a densely wooded area just off Shimla, and the BJP probably thought this was the right setting for it to decide how to get out of the ideological woods. “Leaders want to meet at a place that can be sealed off from the media,” said a source.
The venue was recently inspected by chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and a local RSS official. “The party has not requested for any conference facility since the meeting is closed to the media,” the source said. For delegates who will stay on campus, the administration has rented 10 LCD TV sets. For other delegates, rooms have been booked in Peterhoff hotel in the city.
“We hope this chintan baithak closes the chapter of post-poll bitterness and brings the real issues back into focus. The BJP decided to support the Ram Janmabhoomi movement at its Palampur national executive which catapulted it to power. We hope Himachal becomes its lucky mascot this time,” said a source in the BJP.
