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Bengal assembly elections: BJP begins meetings with targeted groups in state
Some of these meetings are being held by former TMC leaders, who have joined the BJP, such as Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari and is considered to wield considerable “clout” among several unions
As part of its outreach ahead of the assembly election in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun organising closed-door meetings by Union ministers and senior party functionaries with a cross-section of professionals and unions. The meetings are being held with targeted groups that the party wants to woo ahead of the polls and allow “freewheeling exchanges” as these are not publicised and attendance is by invitation, said people aware of the matter.
BJP leaders led by Shiv Prakash, who is also in charge of the state, have been chairing the meetings. Some of these meetings are being held by former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, who have joined the BJP, such as Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari resigned from Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet to join the BJP and is considered to wield considerable “clout” among several unions.
Similar community-based outreach has also been planned in the rural areas.
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“Most of the meetings are concentrated in the urban areas. Visiting ministers and functionaries meet groups of professionals such as chartered accounts, doctors, and entrepreneurs. Meetings are also held with unions representing teachers, the transportation sector, and production workers in sectors such as textiles. These meetings are an important platform for allowing the party to speak about its vision and also get an insight into the problems being faced by the people,” said a functionary.
At one such meeting with students, the party was asked to spell out its agenda for the education sector. The issue of a large number of students having to migrate for higher education was underlined as an area of concern and the BJP leaders were asked to specify how they will address this problem.
“Employment is another issue that comes up for discussion. Entrepreneurs complain of hardships they face in setting up or expanding their business in the wake of corruption and red-tape,” said a second person aware of the matter.
The BJP, which has set a target of winning 200 of the 294 assembly seats in the state, has hired consultants to carry out research on local problems in each of the constituencies. The feedback from the research helps the BJP leaders raise these issues at the meetings. “It shows that the party is aware of the problems on the ground and it also has a strategy to address these,” said the second person.
Targeted outreach was planned by the party in December when it set up special cells to work with professionals.
A third BJP leader, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meetings are held with smaller groups and not publicised to “protect” the attendees. “During the last assembly election, there were not many who would show up; some because they were not familiar with the BJP and others because they feared reparation from the TMC cadres. Now we have big crowds and women in large numbers turning up for the meetings. However, these smaller meetings have seen better responses because they allow people to be heard and seen without fear of being attacked,” the third leader said.
The BJP, which won three seats and 10% of the vote share in the 2106 elections, has accused the TMC cadre of unleashing violence against the BJP cadre and sympathizers. During a visit to the state in December, Union home minister Amit Shah said over 300 BJP workers have been killed and investigation in those cases has been slow.
Party functionaries also said that these meetings only “supplement” canvassing on the ground. “At present, Union ministers such as Gajendra Shekhawat and Dharmendra Pradhan are spending weekends in the state. Both party president JP Nadda and (Union) home minister Amit Shah have undertaken multiple visits to the state,” said the second functionary.
Door-to-door campaigns that are central to the BJP’s canvassing are also being held. Shekhawat, who is in charge of over 35 assembly constituencies, has begun door-to-door campaign.
