BJP lawmakers likely to skip Mumbai conference for outreach campaign in U.P.
As part of this mass-connect campaign, the party has planned rallies and visits by senior leaders in each of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies across the state.
LUCKNOW The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked the party lawmakers to focus on the ongoing public connect campaign underway in the state instead of sparing time for the three-day National Legislators Conference, Bharat (NLC), in Mumbai between June 15 and 17.
About 200 lawmakers, including members of the upper house of the Uttar Pradesh state legislature, have enrolled for the NLC, in which lawmakers and speakers of various assemblies are expected to participate. Though there is no official confirmation about the party’s decision, yet the move, confirmed “off record” by some party members, has apparently been taken to ensure that the party lawmakers get to focus on the ‘maha jansampark abhiyaan (mega public connect initiative)’ that would run through most of June.
As part of this mass-connect campaign, the party has planned rallies and visits by senior leaders in each of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies across the state. The party leadership wants the presence of lawmakers in these outreach campaigns.
“Besides these rallies, the party is also holding ‘prabuddhjan sammelan (intellectual meets)’. In these events, the participation of BJP lawmakers is expected, said a party source when asked about the plan behind holding back its lawmakers from the Mumbai meeting in which about 2,500 lawmakers and speakers from different states and parties are expected to participate.
The BJP has also planned ‘Dhanyawad Modi (Thank You Modi)’ meets in each of the 17 municipal corporations where the BJP won this time. In 2017, when there were only 16 municipal corporations, the BJP had won mayoral posts in 14 of them while the BSP had won two. This time, the BJP won all, including the newly-formed Shahjahanpur municipal corporation. In most of these public outreach initiatives, the BJP is attempting to approach the common man with the policies of the Modi-Yogi governments, party leaders.
“While previous governments would only make promises, the BJP governments of Modi ji and Yogi ji at the Centre and in U.P. have ensured that the benefits of the government schemes reach the poorest of the poor. Our governments have consistently adopted the practice of approaching the masses with our party government’s report card. Such public outreach will continue. All leaders and lawmakers are part of these drives,” a BJP leader said.
U.P. is a crucial state for the BJP and has, since 2014, played a crucial role in party’s back-to-back wins at the Centre. The BJP won phenomenal 71 of the 80 LS seats on its own with its ally Apna Dal (S) winning two more in 2014 Lok Sabha polls from the state. In 2019, despite the SP-BSP alliance, the BJP won 62 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats while its ally Apna Dal (S) won 2. Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats BJP lost, the party has since won two -- Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats -- in the June 2022 Lok Sabha by-polls.
