BJP to use ULB polls to build tempo for Assembly elections

It is zeroing in on a micro-level strategy

BJP State unit president K.S. Eshwarappa, State in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan and Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar sharing a lighter moment with other leaders after a brainstorming session of MPs and MLAs in Bangalore on Tuesday. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is hit by rebellion within, will use the Urban Local Bodies’ polls to build a tempo among its cadre for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The party, which held a daylong brainstorming session of its prominent leaders, legislators, MPs and Ministers in Bangalore on Tuesday, decided to make a focussed effort in the ULB polls by appointing its legislators and MPs as in-charge of each of the 208 local bodies and designating prominent grassroots leaders as in charge of each of the wards for the micro-management of polls.

The main intention of the party, which is struggling to retain its influence amid some of its leaders joining the Karnataka Janata Paksha, is to send a political message through the UPB polls that it is still a strong political organisation, sources said. The party has scheduled a three-day meeting soon after the ULB polls to analyse its strengths and weakness and to chalk out a poll strategy for the 114 Assembly constituencies where its candidates lost in the previous polls.

Briefing reporters after Tuesday’s session, BJP State general secretary Raghunathrao Malkapure said the proposed meeting to be held from March 8 would have district-level sessions to facilitate micro-level understanding.

Rajnath’s visit

To provide impetus to party organisation ahead of the Assembly polls, the BJP has also decided to hold a State executive in Bangalore on March 13. Party national president Rajnath Singh will address the executive.

The BJP will also take out five poll yatras by teams headed by its leaders from different parts of the State from March 15 to 29 as part of its campaign for the Assembly polls. These teams will be led by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Deputy Chief Ministers K.S. Eshwarappa and R. Ashok, party national general secretary Ananth Kumar and the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

These yatras will culminate at a huge rally of party workers on March 31. Mr. Malkapure said they were expecting a turnout of 10 lakh party workers at the rally.