Shah meets BJP, Kerala Sangh leaders

BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday held a series of meetings with office bearers of the party and the RSS as part of efforts to strengthen the party base in Kerala ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Shah, who arrived here on the second leg of his Kerala tour, began with garlanding the statue of social reformer and dalit leader Ayyankali.

He will also interact with social leaders.

Shah's three-day visit is aimed at wooing the dalits and the minority communites in the state, where the party has been struggling to get a foothold.

The BJP leader had on Friday met Church heads, including Cardinal George Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Church, in an effort to woo the minority community, which accounted for 18- 20 per cent of votes in Kerala.

Referring to the frequent attacks on BJP cadres by CPI(M), Shah had said the growth of his party cannot be stopped by violent means.

Addressing a party meeting in Kochi on Friday, Shah had said the southern state was "important" in the BJP's strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

He had said the BJP, which had won several Assembly polls in the country after the 2014 Lok Sabha election, would not be "fully satisfied" till it tasted victory in the Kerala Assembly polls.