Tushar Vellapally named NDA Convener
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Kozhikode: BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which is eyeing to improve its electoral performance in Kerala, Monday formed a 12-member state-level committee at a meeting held here in the presence of party President Amit Shah.
BJP state unit President Kummanam Rajasekharan and the partys Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar were appointed as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala respectively at the meeting, held a day after the conclusion of the three-day BJP national council.
Thushar Vellappally, the chief of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), BJPs key ally in Kerala, was appointed the Convenor of the state NDA, Rajasekharan told reporters.
Former Union Minister P C Thomas, heading a faction of Kerala Congress, would be the representative of the state NDA in the national committee.
BJPs lone MLA in the state assembly O Rajagopal, former state presidents P K Krishnadas and V Muraleedharan, C K Janu (Janathipathya Rashtriya Sabha), A N Rajan Babu (heading a faction of JSS) and Rajan Kannattu (Kerala Congress) are also in the committee, he said.
Shah, who stayed back at Kozhikode to hold discussions with the NDA partners, later left for Kochi en route to New Delhi.
BJP National Secretary H Raja, who is in charge of Kerala, told PTI that the meeting also decided to hold meetings of NDA every month.
"(Besides) We are going to have three public meetings within 30 days - one each in north, central and south Kerala. The main objective is to take NDA programmes to the sections concerned," he said.
Raja said state and national leaders of NDA were expected to participate in these meetings.
"Our aim is to get considerable MPs in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls (from the state). We will be working very hard in all 20 constituencies to achieve this," Raja added.
Shah had last week said BJP would come to power in Kerala in the next assembly elections, due in 2021.
Besides Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders of BJP had attended the three-day national council meeting of the party held here last week.
BJP made its maiden entry in the state assembly in the assembly elections this year.
