Still reeling under the impact of the ‘Aam Aadmis’, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which could not manage to form a government in Delhi due to lack of numbers, is working hard to secure a higher score in case the Capital goes in for re-polls. The party has put in place a three-member working group that will visit various Assembly segments to assess the performance of its elected legislators and those candidates who were not successful in scoring a win in the December 4 elections.
“Each legislator will be asked to speak freely in front of this three-member committee and give his feedback on his Assembly constituency,” said a senior party leader. The exercise is seen as a way of knowing whether a candidate is most suitable for a particular constituency especially after party workers admitted to “excessive infighting” among ticket hopefuls, said the senior leader.
Sources said in Tuesday’s Election Core Group meeting held at the State BJP headquarters, even Delhi poll in-charge Nitin Gadkari admitted that the BJP had “underestimated the AAP” and members of the committee “openly discussed” that the delay in distribution of tickets left candidates with very little time to campaign in their constituencies. “There was also talk of ticket hopefuls sabotaging the attempts of sitting MLAs who were campaigning in their constituencies,” said the source.
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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel said the party will carry out “victory rallies” in those Assembly constituencies that registered a win and will conduct “thanksgiving rallies” in those the party lost out on.
“The Congress has extended support to the AAP. If they want they can go ahead and form the government but we are not sure whether they plan to form a government. Since they are set on contesting the Lok Sabha polls, perhaps they think that they do not want to be exposed so they may not form the government,” he said about the new entrant, the Aam Aadmi Party.
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Mr. Goel said his party has decided to adopt a three-pronged strategy of door-to-door campaigns, public meetings and social media campaigns. “The BJP cadres will also communicate to the people how AAP’s non-serious approach has forced another election upon the people and how BJP is the most feasible and viable alternative since it has been fighting against the misrule of the Congress for the last 15 years,” he said.
With the party having lost out on crucial votes from women and young people, the BJP plans to strengthen the youth and women wings of the party, and plans to expand its base further.