Wednesday, September 6 2006 15:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: As power appeared to be slipping from its hands in Jharkhand, BJP's top brass is converging at Dehradun tomorrow (Sept 7, 2006) to chalk out strategy for the assembly polls in four states including Uttar Pradesh, amid signals that it is going to be a tough battle for the saffron party in Hindi heartland.

The three-day National Executive is being held at a time when the main opposition party has failed to come out of its internal turmoil and its pet ideological issues, including Ayodhya, appeared to have lost steam.

The controversy over Vande Mataram has come in handy for the saffron party ahead of the Executive to focus once again on its core Hindutva campaign amid expectations in the party that the row over the national song would help it galvanise its ideological constituency.

Party stalwarts A B Vajpayee, L K Advani and Rajnath Singh will lead the singing of full Vande Mataram which includes portions opposed seven decades ago by the Muslim League before the start of the BJP's office-bearers meeting tomorrow morning, BJP sources said.

The assembly polls, especially in UP, are crucial for BJP and its President Rajnath Singh, who hails from that state.