Packed schedule awaits Nadda in Lucknow

BJP's newly appointed working president J P Nadda faces a busy schedule when he arrives here Friday afternoon and is likely to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, party's state unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and other office bearers. Nadda, who played a pivotal role in the Lok Sabha polls as the Uttar Pradesh unit in-charge of the BJP, will also hold meetings with party workers and leaders to review organisational matters, party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said Thursday.

The working president is scheduled to meet party office bearers at the BJP headquarters. He is also likely to meet Adityanath and Pandey, Tripathi added. In all likelihood, the by-election to 12 Assembly seats will be among the top issues on Nadda's agenda, party sources said.

"After the party's exceptionally good performance in the Lok Sabha elections, it will face a test to reiterate its supremacy in the by-election and Nadda will be taking it up with the state leaders, besides other pressing organisational issues," they said. Other issues of importance are the expansion of Adityanath's cabinet to fill up vacancies created after three ministers were elected to the Lok Sabha and the parting of ways by alliance partner Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, whose president Om Prakash Rajbhar was also a minister.

With Pandey also being inducted into the Union cabinet, the issue of appointing a new state unit president is also likely to come up. Discussions will also be held about BJP's membership drive which will be kicked off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi on Saturday.

According to Tripathi, party workers are making all-out preparations to accord a grand welcome to Nadda, with plans to felicitate him at different points along the route from the airport to the BJP office. BJP flags and banners have been put up across the state capital, including at major crossings and roads.

Nadda was appointed BJP's working president on June 17 after party chief Amit Shah was appointed Union home minister.

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