Gandhinagar, Jun 11 (IANS): Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil on Friday said that during the pandemic's 2nd wave, which impacted the state terribly alongwith the country, the Congress leaders were nowhere to be seen, whereas the BJP party and its workers were constantly in touch with the people. He was speaking at the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar where the core committee meeting of the saffron party was held.

The BJP in-charge for Gujarat, Bhupendra Yadav is on a three- day visit to the state and on the first day headed the core committee meeting held on Friday at 'Shree Kamalam', the party headquarters.

The meeting was convened to chart out a roadmap for connecting with the people, especially in tough times like Covid-19, the second wave and the after effects of cyclone Taukte. The meeting also saw a discussion on the next year when the state will be going to the polls.

Gujarat has been badly affected by the second wave of Covid-19 and there seems to be a strong anti-BJP sentiment among the public. The saffron party has been ruling the state for about two and a half decades now.

The Bharatiya Janata Party will be facing a lot of resentment from the public, with many of them having lost their loved ones to the pandemic due to the pathetic healthcare system of the state.

The recent cyclonic storm Taukte also inflicted damage on a major portion of the state, with the farmers suffering the most.

So the ruling party is seemingly faced with a very strong backlash against it.

Political pundits feel that the meeting chaired by Gujarat in-charge Yadav was convened because of these factors. However, state BJP chief CR Paatil denied that.

"It has been such a long time since we have had a meeting due to the Covid-19 restrictions. It was nothing of the sort that is being speculated. We still have the support of the people. Our party as well as the state government performed fairly well during the second wave of Covid-19. I don't know of a single BJP leader who was not with the public during tough times," Paatil said in a press briefing at Kamalam.

"Whereas, not a single person from the opposition Congress was seen amongst the public," added Paatil.

"The party had a meeting to discuss various subjects like the possible third wave of Covid-19, how and what should be done by the party members, how to spread awareness about vaccination, especially in the rural areas. And how to have a better connect with the public, detailing all the good work done by the state as well as the central government," added Paatil.

The BJP chief said that the meeting also saw primary discussion on next year's election.