BJP on an overdrive to win Poorvanchali votes

In an effort to appease the Poorvanchali population of Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may give as many as 40 to 50 election tickets to candidates belonging to the community. Hamari Jamatia reports.

In an effort to appease the Poorvanchali population of Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may give as many as 40 to 50 election tickets to candidates belonging to the community.

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According to party workers, the population of Poorvanchalis has significantly increased in the last few years and there is a strong chance of BJP winning if they allow a candidate from the community to contest from areas with a Poorvanchali majority.

The number of people belonging to states such as UP and Bihar gone up manifold over the years. So, BJP and Congress make every possible effort to woo them during elections.

According to a BJP estimate, there are nearly 30 lakh Poorvanchalis living in the city and they form a sizable 23% of the voting population.

Rameshwar Chaurasia, co-in-charge of Delhi BJP, said that as many as 100 candidates were being shortlisted and the final names would be announced soon. “In the last elections, tickets were given to 25 Poorvanchali candidates. This year the number will go up considerably,” he said.

The move comes following a representation to BJP president Nitin Gadkari by BJP MLA Anil Jha, who discussed the possibility of increasing Poorvanchali candidates in order to win the municipal elections on April 15.

A BJP insider said that the decision to increase the number of tickets also came from the fact that it received a lot of resentment over the negligible presence of Poorvanchali members in the recently formed election committee. In the 19 members committee constituted on March 2, only one Abhay Verma, convener of Poorvanchali cell of BJP, was included.