Brij Bhardwaj
The Bharatiya Janta Party is going into crucial polls in five States, with a strategy that they expect to work not only in State polls, but also one they hope will lay the groundwork for the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The message is clear: the BJP is seeking votes for the party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No candidates for Chief Ministership are to be projected, as the BJP wants votes for collective leadership at the State level.
The objective is clear: it will leave no room for factionalism. The second part of its strategy is to ask many individuals in the Lok Sabha, including some members of the council of Ministers, to seek election to the State Assemblies. This will not only help the party to get rid of some members of the Assembly against whom there is resentment but also give the party more room for the selection of the Chief Minister in case it is voted to power.
There is no doubt that the BJP faces tough challenges in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh . In Madhya Pradesh, it has been in power for decades; as such, there is an incumbency factor working against many sitting members of the outgoing Assembly and there is a need to drop many of them. The BJP is nominating candidates well in advance so they have enough time to organize their campaigns.
Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are regularly visiting these states to get a feel for how the winds are blowing. The party has also picked up organizers from different States and given them campaigns to organize in different regions. The BJP, which has a good presence in these States, is using its cadre base by setting up polling booth committees.
The BJP has asked all members of Parliament to visit their respective constituencies and explain to voters the various schemes implemented by the Central Government for the welfare of people, with a particular emphasis on schemes relating to the supply of water, gas cylinders, and loans for houses and building toilets. The Congress party on the other hand has named its Chief Minister candidates in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the case of the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan, Chief Minister Gehlot has been made in charge of the campaign committee. The Congress is trying to campaign on local issues and avoiding making the upcoming State polls a contest on national issues.
To put it in a nutshell, the BJP is trying to cash in on the popularity of the Prime Minister and the work done by the Central Government. The BJP argument is that a stable Government at the Center helps in giving a push to development and has helped in building India’s image in world forums. The Congress, on the other hand, speaks more of the benefits being promised by them like free electricity and allowances for women and unemployed individuals.
In Rajasthan, the BJP hopes that it will be able to get the benefit of the State’s long history, as the people of this State have always voted for a change in government every five years. The BJP’s strong points are the recent enactment of the law for the empowerment of women by reserving 33% seats in the Parliament and State Assemblies, as well as the building of infrastructure.
The upcoming polls in the five States of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram will be watched with interest as they will indicate the mood of the nation, which may have an impact on the national polls in 2024. The BJP is also banking on the fact that in the previous elections held for the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019, even States which voted for Congress in the elections for State Assemblies turned in favor of the BJP in the national polls.
But the BJP is fighting with all its might to win elections for State Assemblies and to prepare for the national poll in 2024, and to achieve its objectives, it is fully exploiting the contradictions in the rival group INDIA, where many of its constituents are fighting each other instead of uniting to challenge the BJP. Close fights are predicted especially in the elections for State Assemblies in Rajasthan, MP, and Chattisgarh.
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