CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed senior BJP functionaries to target M K Stalin-led govt on the state’s financial situation and what the party described as failure to effectively utilize funds from the Centre. Chairing a meeting with members of BJP’s Tamil Nadu core committee to review poll preparedness in a city hotel on Saturday, he directed them to gear up with a counter narrative to DMK during election campaign. “Our leader sought ground-level feedback and discussed strategies to counter the DMK’s narrative against BJP, particularly on language sentiment and fund allocation for various schemes. He instructed us to prepare a strong counter narrative as the campaign enters the final stage,” a senior BJP functionary said, referring to the two-hour-long interaction. Modi held one-on-one discussions with some leaders and sought their views as well.Union minister and Tamil Nadu BJP in-charge Piyush Goyal, state BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran and his predecessors K Annamalai, L Murugan and Tamilisai Soundararajan, along with Vanathi Srinivasan, attended the meeting. Modi also encouraged senior leaders to work towards improving the party’s performance in the Assembly election.Sources said Goyal’s stay in Tamil Nadu is likely to be extended, with the leadership keen that the party does not see a drop in its tally. BJP won four of the 20 seats it contested in the 2021 Assembly election and has been allotted 27 seats in AIADMK-led alliance this time.BJP chief ministers, including Devendra Fadnavis, Rekha Gupta, Yogi Adityanath, Mohan Yadav and Bhajan Lal Sharma, along with other national-level leaders, are likely to campaign for the party from next week.Goyal’s interaction with journalists later in the day, targeting DMK govt over governance and rising debt, was part of BJP’s broader campaign strategy to corner the ruling party, sources added.
