Complaints against sitting MPs pour in at BJP feedback session

Leaders urged to focus on re-establishing connect with voters at grass-roots level

Nirmala Sitharaman, who is the BJP Delhi in-charge for the Lok Sabha elections, met over 100 office-bearers at a feedback session over the weekend. File

The BJP needs to get its act together in the two significant parliamentary constituencies of New Delhi and East Delhi in the run-up to the ensuing general election, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was told during a feedback session over the weekend.

Ms. Sitharaman, who is the party’s Delhi in-charge for the Lok Sabha elections, met over 100 party office-bearers for a total of eight hours over two days to assess the performance of the BJP’s incumbent MPs in all the seven Lok Sabha seats.

“The Defence Minister met with party members, including MLAs both current and former, grass roots-level workers and party functionaries for three hours on Friday and five hours on Saturday at the Delhi BJP office as part of an assessment exercise,” said a party insider.

Submit feedback report

“She will now make a report on the feedback received and submit it to the national leadership on the basis of which the party will decide whom to field. Most of the feedback and suggestions revolved around assertions that new faces must be fielded from two important seats,” the party source further said.

According to sources, the feedback and suggestions given to Ms. Sitharaman, included not repeating candidates on the New Delhi and East Delhi seats, and issues such as lack of “public connect” marring the performance of both sitting MPs, some probable candidates and even the current State leadership of the party.

The current sitting MPs are Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi and Maheish Girri from East Delhi.

Working on strategy

Reworking the party’s strategy of attacking AAP in Delhi instead of focusing on its national pitch of mainly projecting and reinforcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements over the last five years, also figured on the list, party sources claimed.

“Some were of the view that the party had focussed on the AAP enough, and not with much success; so the party would do well to take the political narrative forward solely on the basis of the Modi government’s achievements,” said a party insider.

“Focussing on re-establishing a connect with voters on the grass-roots level as soon as possible, especially in the New Delhi and East Delhi seats, was stressed upon, given the fact that the polls in Delhi are some time away and this can be accomplished even before announcing candidates. Some also made similar statements about the North-West Delhi seat,” said another party source.