BJP’s apex body to discuss 2022 poll strategy on November 7

On Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) key decision-making body, the national executive committee (NEC), will congregate to discuss the upcoming assembly elections in five states, including the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, the party’s performance in the recent by-elections in 14 states, and the overall sentiment in the country over the Union government’s handling of the economy and Covid-19. According to people aware of the details, the meeting will take stock of the party’s electoral strategy for the upcoming elections in the wake of the bypoll results that have sounded an alarm for the BJP in states such as Himachal Pradesh. While the BJP won all five assembly seats in Assam, bagged two from the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and lost one; its performance in Himachal Pradesh, where the party drew a blank in three assembly and one Lok Sabha seat, was a big setback. There was more embarrassment in store for the party in Rajasthan where its candidates were relegated to the third and the fourth spot.