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BJP national office bearers go into a huddle ahead of 2022 polls
New Delhi : With several states going to the polls in 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to hinge its poll campaign on the ongoing vaccination drive, “pro-people policies” of the Modi government, and the social welfare programmes taken up during the pandemic
New Delhi :
With several states going to the polls in 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to hinge its poll campaign on the ongoing vaccination drive, “pro-people policies” of the Modi government, and the social welfare programmes taken up during the pandemic. This was decided at a daylong meeting of the office-bearers of the party in the capital on Monday, said functionaries aware of the details.
The in-person meeting of the national office-bearers was followed by a meeting of the national general secretaries to prepare a blueprint for the elections due in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur in the first half of 2022. Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls later next year.
“There will be an emphasis on the vaccination drive that was carried out with speed. So far, 96.6 crore first doses have been administered, and in a few days we will have achieved 100 crore doses,” said a functionary on condition of anonymity.
A second functionary said the BJP’s outreach during the lockdown — Seva Hi Sangathan — that was designed to provide help to those in need will also be used as an indicator of the party’s commitment to helping people. “While workers of other political parties were largely absent from the ground, it was only the BJP workers who were out distributing food, medicines and other essentials,” the second functionary said, adding that the party also plans to reach out to the beneficiaries of these schemes.
BJP president JP Nadda in his inaugural address accused the opposition parties of trying to put hurdles in the government’s development agenda. Referring to the work carried out under the Seva Hi Sanganthan programme, he said BJP workers worked for the nation keeping in mind not only “political indicators” but also “social indicators”.
Nadda told his party colleagues that the Modi government’s agenda of development and pro-poor programmes like free food grains for the needy has changed the definition of politics.
Briefing mediapersons about the meeting, party vice president and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh said the party’s agenda for the next few months is being shaped. He said the party will set out to design programmes in line with PM Modi’s extensive deliberations with BJP’s organisational leaders over the last few months.
BJP vice president Jay Panda also made a specific mention of the inoculation drive and said the country has achieved many a milestone while carrying out the vaccination programme.
“It is evident the direction in which India under the leadership of PM Modi is going in…We are ready for the upcoming assembly elections. We have been winning elections and will continue to do so, but for our workers, carrying out various welfare programmes are not election-related issues alone, they work for the country,” Panda said.
At a time when the opposition has been lashing out at the government for failing to control inflation, high fuel costs and job cuts, Panda said the economic indicators suggest that India will soon be among the countries with fast-growing economies.
A third functionary said leaders also identified leadership training as a focus area to ensure that a new line of leaders is equipped to take the party forward. “The party has to remain relevant and for that, the workers and the leaders need to learn the use of technology,” the functionary said.
The BJP also criticised Congress Working Committee member Tariq Karra for allegedly accusing Sardar Patel of teaming up with Muhammad Ali Jinnah to keep Jammu and Kashmir away from India. Quoting from a newspaper report that purportedly said Karra had made disparaging comments against Patel, BJP’s Sambit Patra said Congress president Sonia Gandhi should clarify whether he would be removed from the CWC.
