The general election is expected to be held in April-May this year.
“This is something that we do before elections to ensure everything is streamlined. But this time round, the situation has become more demanding as after the recent assembly elections [assembly elections were held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram in November, with the BJP winning in the first three] there has been a surge in the number of people wishing to join the BJP,” said a party functionary.
The leader said that apart from ensuring a background check, “those wishing to join the party will be told categorically that they need to work for the party and should not come in the hope of any post or ticket”.
The leader added: “What is the image of the leader wishing to join and what benefit they will bring to the BJP is also something that will be considered.”
According to sources, issues related to leaders who are upset with the party were also discussed at the meeting, with the BJP hoping to hold talks with them and ensure they give their “best in the elections”.
“Our focus is to win the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats and for this, we need as many hands as possible. The number of leaders who want to join the BJP has only seen a surge, especially after the spectacular performance in the assembly elections. But at the same time we have to be careful that those who join believe in the cause and are not coming with selfish motives as it also demotivates our cadre,” said the leader quoted above.
Meanwhile, Nadda also held another meeting of senior party leaders Tuesday to chalk out plans for the polls, including the party campaign, and the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya this month. This meeting was attended by Union ministers Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vainshnaw, and Mansukh Mandaviya, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, apart from BJP general secretaries Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde, and Tarun Chugh, said sources.
“The meeting saw discussion on the Lok Sabha elections and it has already been decided to focus on beneficiary outreach apart from concentrating on door-to-door campaigns and strengthening the booth-level management. It has also been decided to depute a convenor and a co-convenor for each of the Lok Sabha seats,” said a second BJP leader, talking about this meeting.
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‘Screening to see what new entrants will bring to the table’
According to a third party leader, the committee will “especially focus” on those BJP leaders who had left the party and joined the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and even the Congress, after complaining about party apathy or indifference.
Significantly, the past few years have seen leaders of parties like the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party join the BJP. This has reportedly led to some disgruntlement among the BJP’s existing ranks.
“The idea behind the committee is to ensure there is proper screening and things are in order especially before the elections as there is always a number o leaders who switch sides during this time especially after being denied a ticket,” said this leader.
A fourth party leader said that the idea of the screening committee is to evaluate what benefits the “new entrant” will bring to the BJP.
“We have reached a point where we have to better our previous performance so the idea is to induct such personalities and politicians who have a vote bank and when then join the BJP we also get the support of the voters who are still not with the BJP,” said the fourth leader.
The committee, according to sources, will also reach out to those “leaders and eminent personalities” who can strengthen the party in areas where it is considered “weak”, especially in southern India.
“But the party will also focus on other constituencies and not just where we are considered weak,” the fourth leader added.
However, they should know that BJP can’t become a launching pad for them, he said. “They need to join and work in the party. This will also ensure that the cadre will also not get upset as those who join will not necessarily be given plum positions or tickets without merit” he said.
The BJP has also decided to form sub-committees to oversee the implementation of existing programmes and ways to strengthen them further ahead of the polls.
In addition, sources said, the party has decided to announce new office bearers for every Lok Sabha constituency. With the BJP already focusing on guarantees made by Modi to the nation, the main poll plank would concentrate on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare schemes along with Hindutva, sources said.
“In most of the rallies we have been talking about ‘Modi guarantee’ [election promises] and this will be woven with his larger-than-life image and how he has transformed India with a focus on his delivering during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the second leader quoted above said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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