The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated an outreach programme to apprise foreign envoys about the party’s phenomenal growth — in terms of membership as well expansion across the country — and showcase some of the government schemes that have helped swing elections in the party’s favour.
As part of the initiative, Nepalese premier Sher Bahadur Deuba with four cabinet colleagues and wife Arzu Deuba visited the party headquarters during his visit to New Delhi last week. The visit was a first of its kind, where the head of a country visited a political party’s headquarters on the invitation of the party president.
This was followed by an interaction party president JP Nadda held with 13 heads of diplomatic missions on the occasion of the party’s foundation day on Wednesday.
Some of the envoys expressed interest in studying the policies implemented in the past seven years of the Narendra Modi government and how the government ensures last mile delivery of schemes, according to a functionary aware of the details. They will be taken to districts where they can glimpse the processes at work.
“We have clubbed together countries in groups of 12-13. There are about seven to eight such groups that will be taken to various districts where they can see how schemes are implemented and how the government’s quest for ensuring benefits to the last man in the queue is served,” the functionary said, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}“We have clubbed together countries in groups of 12-13. There are about seven to eight such groups that will be taken to various districts where they can see how schemes are implemented and how the government’s quest for ensuring benefits to the last man in the queue is served,” the functionary said, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}Although it was the party’s decision to reach out to the envoys as a relation-building exercise, the idea to organise ground visits came about after some of them posed questions about the party’s communication mechanism, given its sheer size, the functionary said.
The BJP boasts of a membership of about 180 million, making it the single-largest political party in the world.
“We felt there is a need to talk about the party, its ideology and how our core values form the basis of our people- centric schemes. The BJP’s membership is almost double that of the communist party in China (95 million) and nearly three times more than the Democratic Party in the US (48 million). Besides, it is not unusual for envoys to meet political party leaders,” said a second functionary.
In the past, envoys have visited the headquarters of the BJP’s ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and interacted with the Sangh leadership.
Interactions between envoys and political party leaders are critical in understanding the “politics behind policies, clear misconceptions and forge closer ties that are not only the remit of governments,” said a RSS leader who declined to be named.
These interactions also allow for freewheeling discussions and give an opportunity to ask questions on issues that can fall in the realm of diplomacy, he said.
At the interaction with Nadda, which was attended by foreign minister S Jaishankar and Vijay Chauthaiwale, the head of the BJP’s foreign cell, the envoys asked questions about the BJP’s policy for minorities and how the union government balances regional aspirations.
“As for the policy towards the minorities, the party president said the BJP follows the principle of development for all and appeasement for none,” said the first functionary. “He also said unlike the Congress party that ignored regional aspirations, which in turn led to the formation of regional satraps, the BJP has drafted policies keeping in mind the specific needs of the various regions, even as the country’s overall interests are protected.”