Chandigarh: The BJP, which is giving a critical support to its political ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab to run the Parkash Singh Badal Government, is holding its first working commitee meeting from tomorrow since a strong RSS man Rajender Bhandari had taken charge as party chief in the state.

The meeting to be held for two days will be addressed among others by Punjab BJP affairs incharge Balbir Punj and senior party functionary Kiran Ghai, Bhandari said here today. Besides the working committee members, the meeting will be attended by party MPs, MLAs, ministers, district presidents and general secretaries.

Party sources said that the agenda of the meeting is to discuss the working relations of the party with its ally SAD. Besides, a strategy will also be chalked out for the forthcoming elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions. In the 117-member Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the SAD has 49 members whereas the BJP s strength is 19.

In the assembly elections in 2007, the BJP surprised the poll pundits by winning the 19 of the 23 seats it contested. At times the two allies have divergent stands on certain issues, including the post of deputy chief minister and power hike. Succumbing to the BJP s pressure, Badal had announced to foot the bills of consumers following the hike in power in the form of subsidies.

Source : PTI