BJP to focus on door-to-door campaign for upcoming polls

The BJP typically relies on door-to-door canvasing and buttresses it with social media outreach. Ahead of elections in 2023 in Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Karnataka and Mizoram, the party’s strategy is to intensify its campaign.

Ahead of the upcoming round elections in eight states, the Bharatiya Janata Party will carry out doorstep campaigning to forge “emotional ties” with the families that they reach out to during canvassing, said people aware of the details.

All state units have been asked to hold state executive committee meetings in the next one week and replicate the meetings at the district level as well. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

On the concluding day of the two-day national office bearers meet, party president JP Nadda told the leaders to ensure that while functionaries including the panna pramukhs, or the electoral page in-charges, reach out to families in their respective areas, they do not limit their interaction only to election related issues, but forge emotional ties.

The BJP typically relies on door-to-door canvasing and buttresses it with social media outreach. Ahead of elections in 2023 in Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Karnataka and Mizoram, the party’s strategy is to intensify its campaign.

“The party president told the gathering that the aim of the outreach should be to learn about the concerns of the people, try to find solutions to their problems, and build a relationship. He said the families should not see the leaders as party people, but as family members who stuck by them through thick and thin,” a person privy to the meeting said.

Panna pramukhs have emerged as the BJP’s foot soldiers in strengthening the party’s presence on the ground. Each panna, or page, has details of about 30 families in a constituency, whose support is elicited to ensure electoral victories, the functionary said, declining to be named.

Detailed presentations on the poll preparations were made by the unit presidents of the poll-bound states. “The discussions were detailed. Every aspect of electioneering was discussed and several suggestions were made on how to galvanise the cadre, take on the opposition and prepare to counter any issues that have the potential to dominate the poll narrative,” the functionary said.

All state units have been asked to hold state executive committee meetings in the next one week and replicate the meetings at the district level as well.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the meeting and asked party colleagues to ensure the G20 platform is used to showcase India’s culture and diversity, and ensure the implementation of social welfare schemes in far-flung areas, particularly the villages in border areas.