Ahead of polls, BJP ramps up ‘biggest’ doorstep delivery of welfare schemes
“Nearly two dozen stalls of different departments with government officials are there at the place where the yatras arrive.”
Months ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the middle of perhaps the biggest ever “doorstep delivery” of government schemes.

The party’s message to cadres and officials is simple: ensure all eligible people are covered by these welfare schemes.
No matter whom you speak to in the BJP or in the bureaucracy, there is near unanimity that a pro-poor outreach like the one that is being attempted through the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatras has not been attempted before.
“Nearly two dozen stalls of different departments with government officials are there at the place where the yatras arrive. The gram pradhan and others are also there and instantly those yet not covered are listed as beneficiaries,” an official of the social welfare department said.
BJP’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh during his Monday meeting with top state BJP leaders in party and government also emphasised on beneficiary focus.
While expanding the growing network of ‘labarthi (beneficiaries)’ vote bank is indeed central to the exercise, the campaign has an added focus and novelty in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP is again expecting a big tally of Lok Sabha seats this year in its bid for a hat-trick of wins at the Centre.
As the consecration ceremony at Ram temple is set for January 22 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s ‘labarthi’ push through the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra is so scripted to convey to the common man that ‘Lord Ram’s arrival’ in his grand abode is intertwined with the vision of Ram Rajya – a term popularised by Mahatma Gandhi – which largely refers to ‘good governance’, an aspect that “double engine” BJP governments are out to showcase ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
“From Ram to Ram Rajya is a logical progression, one that is being sought to be conveyed through Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatras,” said AP Tiwari, a political expert.
Like all BJP campaigns, Modi is at the core of this one too. That’s why the motorised chariots have “Modi ki guarantee (Modi’s assurance)” prominently written on all Viksit Bharat Yatras vehicles.
Woven around the Viksit Bharat campaign is a 27-point activity that includes quizzing children and youth on government schemes, rewarding the winners, doorstep medical checkup facility for the old and ailing and gifting calendars and pocket diaries to the masses in the New Year.
So far, such health checkups have been arranged for 54,82,472 people in rural areas. By January 26, when the Viksit Bharat Yatras conclude, the party is aiming to map nearly all the 58,000 odd villages in the state, where at least one yatra would have reached.
“Over 100 physical and virtual meetings have been held so far to plan and monitor the yatra in the key state, showcasing the commitment party has into this activity,” a senior BJP leader said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been fuelling the ‘Viksit Bharat’ push through his continued participation as are his ministers and senior functionaries.
“The issue has never been about schemes in this country. It has always been about implementation and as a political party we are now bridging the gap between theory and practice, something being attempted at this scale for the first time,” BJP state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh has been telling the cadres in the meetings.
U.P. BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, too, has been regularly monitoring the progress of the yatra while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been virtually interacting with the beneficiaries.
BJP lawmaker and state general secretary Subhash Yaduvansh, coordinating the U.P. leg of the Viksit Bharat campaign, said since November 15, the Viksit Bharat Yatras have linked 5,32,515 people with Suraksha Bima Yojana, the insurance scheme with a ₹2 lakh accident cover, in rural UP. Another 2,96,650 have been linked to Jeevan Jyoti Bima, a government-backed life insurance scheme.
Till now, 3,29,100 anaemia checkup camps have been held for women as well as 2583250 TB checkups which are in line with Modi’s push to eradicate Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the World Health Organisation deadline.
“Not just beneficiaries, people are also approaching the yatra team with their grievances,” BJP leaders said.
The yatras have seen 52,493 Kisan credit cards and 2,457,804 Ayushman Bharat cards being issued. Before the yatra, a 15-member advance team with block pramukhs as in-charge reaches the villages and undertakes cleanliness drive, BJP leaders said. Beneficiaries and those who are still left out of the ambit of public welfare schemes are listed and enrolled. “We have held a dialogue with three crore people so far. By January 26 we are targeting 100% enrollment of eligible beneficiaries,” they said.
