Why BJP has brought in the big guns for 3 crucial Assembly elections
With the Assembly elections slated for later this year assuming added significance in the backdrop of the BJP failing to win an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections on its own, the party on Monday placed a group of top Union Ministers and experienced senior leaders in charge of poll-bound Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand.
The Assembly elections come in the backdrop of the BJP’s failure to win a majority in the Lok Sabha polls on its own, causing disquiet among some party leaders and a section of the cadre because of decisions taken in the run-up to the parliamentary polls, including election management and candidate selection. How the RSS approaches the coming elections will also be crucial after Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s public remarks — he said a “true sevak” does not have “arrogance” and that “decorum was not maintained” during the Lok Sabha poll campaign — that were viewed as a criticism of the BJP leadership. The role of the RSS cadre will be crucial, especially in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
In an interview to The Indian Express last month, BJP president J P Nadda said the party had become “saksham (capable)” of running its own affairs, without needing the help of the RSS. The remarks caused some consternation within the ranks of the Sangh.
“All the elections are important for the party. However, these elections have an added significance in the new political situation. Winning these polls is crucial for the BJP leadership as it has to regain its control over the party. Right now, with a review of its performance taking place in the state units, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra, there is simmering uneasiness among the cadre. So, nothing short of emphatic wins will settle things for the party,” said a BJP leader.
Following an initial assessment of the Lok Sabha election performance in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana, BJP leaders told The Indian Express last week that the leadership would have to extensively introspect about how it can perform better in the state elections. One leader warned that if the performance in the state elections is not up to expectations again, “things may take an unpleasant turn”.
Who all are in charge
Union Ministers Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vainshaw who played a key role in delivering the victory for the party in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls last December have been given the responsibility of Maharashtra. While Yadav is the leader in charge, Vaishnaw is the co-in-charge. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be in charge of Haryana, with former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb the co-in-charge. Deb has been the secretary in charge of Haryana. Union Minister and former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma will handle the party's electioneering in Jharkhand, according to an official note issued by BJP general secretary Arun Singh. With the Supreme Court having directed that elections have to be held in Jammu and Kashmir before September, the ruling party has assigned Union Coal and Mines minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy as the leader in charge of electioneering in the Union Territory.
Of all the three states, Maharashtra is the most crucial. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s tally dropped from 23 to 9 while allies Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde bagged seven seats and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) just one. The BJP-led NDA lost a total of 26 constituencies in the state, finishing with just 17 out of 48.
“Maharashtra is the nerve centre of national politics. It is extremely important that we win it,” said a senior BJP leader. Both Yadav and Vaishnaw will have to ensure cohesion between the cadre, which includes the volunteers from the Sangh Parivar, and workers of the party’s Mahayuti allies.
With BJP leaders familiar with the party’s functioning in Haryana admitting that the election management in the state went awry, leading to the party losing half of its tally to the Congress, Pradhan and Deb’s roles will be significant. While Pradhan is an experienced hand with his prior roles as election in-charge in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Deb was in charge of Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls. The former Tripura CM was credited for uniting state leaders and consolidating the party's support base but had to leave halfway after being fielded from Tripura West. He was later deployed in Odisha, where the party swept both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, Chouhan who was recently shifted from Madhya Pradesh to the national stage will work in tandem with Sarma who has become a key part of the organisational and electoral activities of the BJP. Their challenge will be to ensure the BJP regains its tribal support base in Jharkhand, where tribals constitute more than 26% of the population. The BJP won eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand but failed to win any of the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes: Khunti, Lohardaga, Chaibasa, Rajmahal, and Dumka.
In J&K, as the BJP sees positive signals in the high voter turnout in the Lok Sabha polls, Reddy who was the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs during the last term of the BJP government will have to see to it that his party makes the best of it and is in a position to make inroads. The BJP did not field a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections in the four constituencies in the Union Territory.
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