It will be the first time that BJP will go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls without its former alliance partner Akali Dal.
NEW DELHI: The Punjab BJP has started gearing up for the 2024 general elections, and this will be the first time that BJP will go it alone in Lok Sabha elections without their former alliance partner Akali Dal. In September 2020, the Akali Dal had walked out of NDA after the Centre announced the controversial farm laws. After that, the BJP fought the Punjab 2022 Assembly elections alone, but only secured two seats. The BJP is trying to make the base in the rural vote bank of the state. Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma has recently visited 12 rural Assembly segments.
“Earlier, we were an alliance partner of Akali Dal and at that time, we had not explored the villages of Punjab. We know we have a weak structure in rural areas, but our party is working to make connections in the villages of Punjab,” a senior leader from Punjab BJP said.
“Breaking with Akali Dal is not a challenge for us, but we look at it like an opportunity; now, we are exploring 94 Assembly constituencies, which were untouched because of alliance,” the BJP leader added.
In mid-December, former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani also visited the state; this came after his appointment as in-charge of Punjab affairs. He asked workers to start preparing for the 2024 polls. According to Punjab BJP leadership, the central leadership is keeping eye on state affairs. “The central leadership has asked us to carry the booth Sashaktikaran and Lok Sabha Parvas Yojna in the state and the Punjab unit is focusing on it,” Jivan Gupta, General Secretary, Punjab BJP, said.
Under the booth Sashaktikaran programme, the party has identified booths, where the party’s performance was weak in the Assembly elections and workers will focus on these booths. Another scheme is Lok Sabha Parvas Yojna, under which various ministers will visit Lok Sabha constituencies to strengthen the voter base and endorse central schemes, launched by the Narendra Modi government.
“Currently, we have finished the first phase of Parvas Yojna and next month the second phase will start,” Gupta said. The Punjab BJP is also planning to launch campaigns against the AAP government. Drugs, sacrilege, and law and order are some of the issues which the BJP will use to corner AAP in Lok Sabha polls. “Why are those accused of sacrilege not behind bars yet and why is industries exiting the state? We will take issue and will pressure the Mann government,” the BJP leader said. In the 2019 elections, INC won 8, SAD won 2, BJP won 2 and AAP won one seat in elections. Later, AAP lost Sangrur’s seat to SAD (A), Simranjit Singh Maan, in by-elections. Recently, the BJP has made changes in the party leadership; at the state and district level, 31 district presidents were appointed and General Secretaries were also given charge of zones. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the party got 6.6% votes and now the party is focusing on double-digit vote per cent. Giving space to former Punjab CM Amrinder Singh and former MP Sunil Jakhar in the national executive show that the party is serious about Punjab’s performance.