BJP to launch weeklong campaign in Feb to reach out to 7 lakh villages, urban booths

BJP to launch weeklong campaign in Feb to reach out to 7 lakh villages, urban booths

The BJP will run an outreach campaign named Gaaon Chalo Abhiyan (travel to villages campaign) from February 4 to 11 during which at least one party worker will be present in each of India’s seven lakh villages and all urban booths to inform voters about the development work and welfare initiatives of the Narendra Modi government.

The party workers will also discuss the construction of the Ram temple with the villagers, sources said.

Sources in the BJP also said that the Prime Minister is likely to take part in over 140 public events across the country in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The Gaaon Chalo Abhiyan will be to ensure that the party gets at least 51 percent votes in each booth, and exceeds that figure in case it had already secured 51 percent votes in that booth in 2019. In 2019, too, the BJP had launched a similar campaign.

The party has also laid down the manner in which teams for this campaign are to be constituted: state-level teams will have one convenor and four co-convenors, zilla teams will have one convenor and two co-convenors, Mandal teams will have one convenor and one co-convenor, and village and urban teams will have a convenor.

After the campaign ends, the Pravasi Karyakarta (the visiting worker) will visit the village or town once in 15 days till the Lok Sabha election concludes.

On the other hand, to include rallies, public meetings, and road shows of varying magnitude, Modi will interact with and seek real-time assessments of candidates fielded by the party from office-bearers appointed in charge of more than 140 Parliamentary constituency clusters by the BJP after the Ram temple Pran Pratistha ceremony, said the sources.

“Seven to eight Lok Sabha seats are part of each such cluster which is headed by a local BJP leader who is not contesting the polls. The PM will visit at least one constituency out of each cluster for an event – a large rally or at least a road show – and interact with the cluster in-charge as well as representatives of the local leadership from the remaining constituencies,” a source said.

“This arrangement is despite the party already having put in place a feedback mechanism for both incumbent MPs and the candidates fielded from different Lok Sabha seats under the watch of a cluster in-charge to a committee, including Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and national general secretary, organisation, BL Santhosh,” the source added.

According to a senior leader, Delhi will, in addition to its own cluster of Lok Sabha seats – which the party has already announced for states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan – also have a Khel Spardha or sports competition at “several” of the capital’s seven Parliamentary segments.

To feature various sports activities for children and young adults residing in the areas which will host such activities in the selected Lok Sabha seats, the event, sources said, was aimed at re-establishing as well as assessing the popularity of incumbent Delhi BJP MPs.

When it comes to Delhi, the BJP, according to insiders, is looking to increase women’s participation, relying on young faces and a “high profile” candidate – possibly a celebrity or a Union Minister.

The BJP is, currently, discussing various possibilities and assessing several factors ranging from ground surveys on incumbent MPs’ “winnability factor” to their contribution to its vote share in the 2022 MCD polls before making up its mind about the candidates to be fielded from Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections.

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