BJP leaders believe that an increase of nearly 5% votes would make a big difference.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party, eyeing to stage a comeback in Delhi after two decades, has planned to strengthen its vote share in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. The idea is to increase the vote share by at least 5-7% by bringing new voters to its fold.
In one such exercise, the Delhi BJP has set a target of enrolling at least 100 new voters in every polling booth, which amounts to nearly 1.5 lakh voters across 13,800 booths across the national capital. While the BJP bagged a whopping 56% votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, its vote share in the Assembly polls has constantly been around 33%. BJP leaders believe that an increase of nearly 5% votes would make a big difference.
In the 2013 Delhi elections, the BJP had won 31 seats with the vote share of 33.07%. However, in the 2015 elections, it was reduced to just three seats, but the vote share remained at 32.1%. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on the other hand, had secured 54% votes.
A senior BJP leader said the party has launched a campaign to reach out to the first-time voter or new voters by helping them get enrolled in the voters’ list. “At least 100 new voters will be enrolled in each of the polling stations in the national capital. There are 13,816 polling booths in Delhi and the party planned to enrol nearly 1.5 lakh new voters,” he said. For this drive, the BJP has appointed over 12,000 agents at different levels in booths, Assembly segments and coordinators in every district.
Recently, the BJP also concluded its mega membership drive where the Delhi unit claimed to have added over 18 lakh new members. Party leaders believe that the new members would increase its vote share by 3-4%.
In Delhi, the BJP faces the biggest challenge of countering the poll sops offered by the AAP government. The ruling party has already announced exemption of electricity bills up to 200 units, free metro and DTC bus rides to women, free water, among many other promises. BJP strategists believe that strengthening its voters’ base using conventional methods could be the most effective tool against the AAP government.
The state unit has also planned to launch a membership drive in Muslim-dominated seats with the aim of bringing youths and women from the community to the BJP fold. The Muslim-dominated seats in Delhi include Chandni Chowk, Matial Mahal, Ballimaran, Seelampur, Mustafabad, Badarpur, Okhla and Trilokpuri. Except the Mustafabad seat, where BJP’s sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan broke the jinx in 2015 Assembly polls, the BJP has never won any election in the remaining seven seats. Similarly, the BJP’s record in reserved seats like Bawana, Deoli, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur Majra, Mangolpuri, Madipur and others have been below expectations.