NEW DELHI: Such reports are coming to the party headquarters especially from Bihar, the Northeast, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party has denied tickets to more than 120 sitting Members of Parliament in view of the anti-incumbency associated with them, many candidates fighting on the Lotus symbol and as a part of the larger National Democratic Alliance (NDA), are facing anger from voters for not being “with them” for the most part of the last five years, and being inaccessible.
Such reports are coming to the party headquarters especially from Bihar, the Northeast, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
In Bihar, the party candidates and those contesting as a part of the NDA are facing similar angry protests with voters complaining that the MPs, for the better part of the last five years, did not come and meet them nor did they give them a proper audience when they went either to Patna or Delhi with their problems.
Those who have been subjected to such public anger include “big” candidates like former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is contesting as an NDA candidate from Gaya seat. The seat was earlier held by Janata Dal (United) MP Vijay Manjhi. In the Karakat Lok Sabha seat too, NDA nominee Upendra Kuswaha is facing a challenging task. Kushwaha has contested from the seat thrice, in 2009, 2014 and 2019. He had won in 2014 as a Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) candidate, a party that he had formed. A video that went viral earlier last week shows Kushwaha being asked by voters of his constituency to go back while telling him that they have been “blessed” to see him in person after all these years.
In Madhya Pradesh, a similar situation is being faced by BJP candidates from Satna (Ganesh Singh), Mandla (Faggan Singh Kulaste) and in the seats in the Chambal region (Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna).
In the Northeast, Sarbanada Sonowal, who is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh, Assam and Kiren Rijiju, contesting his fifth Lok Sabha election from Arunachal West seat, are facing a tough election as the voters are upset with them for not being accessible after becoming Union Ministers.
In Rajasthan, state party leaders have reported that BJP candidates are facing a strong resistance on at least five seats, despite dropping incumbent MPs on some of the seats.
According to BJP sources, the party has factored in the anger and the anti-incumbency against its sitting MPs and hence almost 40% of them were not given tickets including Union Ministers.
However, some names were not dropped despite an unfavourable survey report as they are expected to manage the anger against them; an also because there was no credible name to replace them at this stage.
Becoming inaccessible after being elected to the Lok Sabha is not a new habit for political leaders, and is definitely not limited to any particular party.
According to a senior Rajya Sabha member, the problem of becoming inaccessible and not giving a few minutes to their voters, have had serious political consequences for leaders, but still they do not learn. “One reason for this is not having a capable team around you who can meet the voters on your behalf, without making them wait inordinately, offer them chair and water, note their grievances and make sure that either these are solved or the voter is personally made to understand that why it cannot be solved and how the MP tried his or her best. This is a simple way to handle the age-old problem of not being accessible,” he said.
According to political observers, the “Modi factor”, referring to the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the electorate, becomes important on such seats and the deciding factor between a win and a loss. While the voter is angry with the incumbent MP, he still votes for the BJP and the NDA due to his attraction for Modi, thus deciding to forgive the local MP. The%age of such voters according to political observers, who are unhappy with their MP but are voting for the NDA because of PM Modi, is expected to be around 10-15%.
In the 1998 general elections, the BJP got 26% votes, in 1999 it was 24%. In the 2004 elections, it got 22% votes which went down to 19% in 2009. In 2014, when Modi was announced the PM face, it steeply rose to 31% votes which further rose to 37% in 2019.
The BJP had won 303 seats in the 2019 elections, while contesting on 437 seats, which translates to 69% strike rate. This time too (until Friday) it has declared its candidates on 437 seats until now and is looking to achieve a strike rate of 80% which will get it 350 seats on its own.