BJP going all out to retain seats in Himachal for Lok Sabha polls

The party swept all four Lok Sabha seats — Shimla, Kangra, Hamirpur, and Mandi — in the hill State in 2019

Published - February 09, 2024 03:57 am IST - CHANDIGARH

Ahead of the parliamentary election, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) appears to leave nothing to chance in Himachal Pradesh, the home State of the party’s national president J.P. Nadda, as “micro-management” at the booth level in all constituencies across the State has been stepped up to garner public support.

The BJP swept all four Lok Sabha seats — Shimla, Kangra, Hamirpur, and Mandi — in Himachal Pradesh in 2019. However, the BJP suffered a setback in 2021, when the party candidate lost the by-election to the Mandi parliamentary constituency to the Congress party. The by-election for Mandi was necessitated after BJP MP Ram Swaroop’s death.

Later, in the 2022 State Assembly election, the BJP lost at the hustings to the Congress, and hence now it seems in no mood to let its guard down for the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Mr. Nadda has already stepped up the tone for the election by holding roadshows and public rallies in the hill State since January. The national president recently also participated in a State-level party meeting to narrow down the poll strategy.

With an aim to reach out to the people regarding the party’s 10 years of achievement at the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the State unit has aggressively started working with micro-level planning to connect with the voters through its various frontal wings at the booth level across constituencies. Apart from the party’s achievement, the “failure” of the incumbent Congress government in the State will also be conveyed to the people.

Social media plan

With the role of social media platforms gaining substance, the BJP has decided to put it to optimal use, as the party has already extended its reach on WhatsApp to around 90% of polling booths across the State. Of the total 7,990 polling booths in the State, the party has so far formed WhatsApp groups for 7,380 polling booths. The rest of the polling booths are set to be covered in the next two weeks, and through these groups, the party attempts to reach out and connect to voters to win them over ahead of the polls.

“We are all set for elections. In Himachal Pradesh, there are around 7,990 polling booths, and we are working towards equally strengthening all polling booths. Already, we have created WhatsApp groups for 7,380 polling booths, and through this platform, we will convey the party’s and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements during the past 10 years to the people. The remaining polling booths will be covered through WhatsApp in the next two weeks,” Rajeev Bindal, president of Himachal Pradesh BJP, told The Hindu.

The frontal party wings including Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (youth), Kisan Morcha (farmers), Mahila Morcha (women), and Scheduled Castes (SC Morcha) are also being pressed into action to directly meet with the people. “In the [next] three weeks, members of our frontal wings will be working with full strength on the ground in the constituencies. The party recognises the importance of these wings and hence strategically they have been assigned the job,” he said.

As the general election inches closer, the BJP has already sounded the poll bugle in the hill State, and besides harping on its “achievements”, the party is targeting the Congress government in the State over its “failure” to fulfill its election guarantees, extended during the 2022 Assembly election.

Criticism of Congress govt.

Mr. Bindal alleged that the Congress-led government has betrayed the people during its 14-month tenure, as it has failed to fulfill any of the poll guarantees. “The guarantees which were given to the youth, women, electricity, farmers, and everyone else of the State remain only on papers and were extended only to get votes. The Congress government had wasted 14 months of the people of Himachal Pradesh and instead of taking the State forward, it had taken the state back years,” the BJP leader said.

“We will expose the government before the people. Before coming to power, the Congress promised to give one lakh jobs to the unemployed youth in the first Cabinet, free electricity up to 300 units monthly to all households, and financial assistance of ₹1,500 monthly to women among others. None of these promises have been fulfilled,” he added.

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