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New U.P. BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary talks of special strategy for 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhary says there is hardly any reason why the party won’t win all the elections and all the seats, from the civic polls to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) extended a warm welcome to its first Jat Uttar Pradesh chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, who arrived in Lucknow by train along with several west U.P. leaders on Monday, and straightaway spoke about the party’s Mission 2024 by referring to a “special strategy” to wrest 14 Lok Sabha seats held by opposition MPs in the state.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who was present on the occasion, said the “sarkar aur sangathan” (government and organization) will work together for 2024 LS polls and ensure that the state becomes “bhajapamay (drenched in BJP colours).”
Yogi Adityanath welcomed both the state chief Bhupendra Chaudhary as well as the party’s new state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal, who also hails from west U.P.
Timed with Bhupendra Chaudhary’s taking over, a meeting by the BJP leadership was held in Delhi to finalise its strategy on “remaining 14 seats that the party has to win in 2024 LS polls”.
“We have such great leadership, committed cadres and there is hardly any reason why we won’t win all the elections and all the seats, from the civic polls that are expected by year-end to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” Bhupendra Chaudhary said on arrival soon after he stepped out of the railway station to lead an impressive road show till BJP headquarters opposite the state assembly.
His convoy halted every now and then to garland statues of party ideologues and other leaders, but Chaudhary refused to be garlanded himself while crediting the workers for the party’s success.
Chaudhary, who is also the panchayati raj minister in the Yogi government 2.0 and expected to quit his ministerial portfolio in keeping with the party’s one-man, one-post principle, said there won’t be any problem in striking a balance between ‘sarkar aur sangathan (government and the organisation).
“I am asked how I will strike a balance between sarkar aur sangathan. My answer is if there is any need for that as Yogiji’s government is following the organisation’s agenda only. All the issues we used to raise before the people prior to elections are now being fulfilled by the government,” he said.
“I don’t possess any special qualification. Whatever I am today is due to the love of the cadre and my commitment to work. Don’t think that we all sitting here on stage are any different from you all, who are not here. It is just that we are lucky (to be here), that’s all,” Chaudhary said from the stage that he shared with Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya, Brajesh Pathak, Jal Shakti minister and former state chief Swatantra Dev among many senior leaders.
There were repeated references to the BJP’s win in Rampur and Azamgarh in the Lok Sabha by-polls in June. These two seats were considered a Samajwadi Party bastion and were among the 16 seats that the party had failed to win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“I am a common worker and my elevation as the state BJP chief only reflects your strength,” Chaudhary said, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with having taken the party to greater heights. Chaudhary did target the opposition parties but only briefly and appeared to be focused more on galvanising the cadre for booth-level strengthening campaigns.
“He is unlikely to ring in large-scale changes and whatever changes he makes would be with a specific agenda to win the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” a party leader said.
