Lucknow, 3 Mar (HS): Sunil Bansal, the BJP’s national general secretary, has returned to Lucknow after a seven-month absence to assess the party’s readiness for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Bansal asked the BJP leaders for comprehensive input on seats in the state that the party lost in the 2019 general election.
The former state general secretary (organization) is said to have concentrated on Assembly segments in parliamentary seats where the party’s performance dipped after peaking in the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly elections. State authorities have been requested to expedite work in the main assembly portions as soon as possible.
In the coming days, the BJP intends to schedule rallies for union Home Minister Amit Shah and party leader JP Nadda in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. Nadda, who has already addressed a public gathering in Ghazipur, is slated to visit Saharanpur and Amroha in the coming days, followed by Shah’s visit to other BSP-held constituencies.
The BJP has already dispatched a slew of union ministers to collaborate on the aforementioned constituencies. According to sources, BJP leaders also discussed staging campaigns/public gatherings in weaker Assembly constituencies for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and some of his cabinet colleagues.
“Despite a partial revival of the Samajwadi Party, the party intends to recreate the tactics of the 2022 Assembly elections, when it returned to power with a resounding majority,” said a senior party functionary. Bansal has emphasized the need of creating public outreach initiatives as well as improving communication between the state government and the party organisation. The BJP has been relying on public benefit initiatives launched by the Modi government to expand its presence in areas where the party is facing a resurgent opposition. The plan had some success in Rampur and Azamgarh, which the BJP took from the SP in by-elections last year.
The ruling party, however, was unable to penetrate the SP stronghold of Mainpuri, which became vacant following the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Last year, the BJP lost Khatauli to SP-backed RLD candidate Madan Bhaiyya.
Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi
Leave a Reply