BENGALURU: The BJP has now decided to foray into non-political initiatives by getting into the field of social work.

This was among the four issues raised by national party president Amit Shah in his opening remarks at the party's two-day national executive committee meeting here on Friday. The other three were: rid India of the practice of manual scavenging with data available that 23 lakh are still employed to do this, gender sensitization on beti-bachao-beti padao and clean Ganga campaign.

Briefing reporters on the agenda discussed before the pre-lunch session, Union minister Prakash Javdekar said the BJP wanted to show it was a party with a difference and when other political outfits are only engaged in electioneering, his party plans to get into social service. To a query why the BJP wants to get into an area where NGOs are already doing the work, he said: ``We are workers of a political party. People will definitely accept our participation.''

Javdekar said Shah made the point that 2014 had been an ``year of victory'' for the BJP having won the Lok Sabha, Maharashtra and other states polls. The party was ruling in eight states and in four other with its alliance partners. ``The party had the largest data bank with 17 crore votes polled and the membership enrolment having reached 9.25 crore now,'' Javdekar quoting Shah said.

Shah is also learnt to have said that with the party inching towards the 10 crore membership enrolment target, the BJP would be commencing its mass contact programme. ``The enrolment had been through mobile phone calls which would be translated into making these members into workers. Later these members would be trained to get into political activity,'' Shahis reported to have said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting at the National college grounds here at 5 pm.