Target 2049: PM sets BJP’s goal for poll dominance

BJP’s brainstorming comes up with key poll strategies; CMs for all poll-bound states to be decided by the Central BJP leadership.

 

Jaipur: The BJP brainstorming session of national office-bearers here has come up with several strategies to be followed by the party during upcoming elections. One, the saffron party will corner the entire opposition

, including Congress, over the dynastic politics more than the government’s achievements. This was indicated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when delivered his address at the session on Friday. Undeniably, the issue of dynastic politics benefited BJP immensely during the UP polls. Two, the party will not project any CM face in all the states, including Rajasthan, going to polls this year and next year as well. Three, the BJP will continue to fight elections banking on PM Modi’s charismatic image. Four, the chief ministers will be decided by the Delhi leadership. The candidates will be selected on the basis of surveys. The leadership will not be that liberal in allocation of tickets to kin of leaders. So, the indications from Jaipur do not augur well for the present and former CMs. The leaders brainstormed on the strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. PM Modi set the big agenda by making it clear to the workers and leaders that it is time for the BJP to set targets for the next 25 years. What is clear is that the PM asked them to keep in mind the goals until 2049. PM Modi hinted that he wants to take the BJP to a position where the Congress’ legacy of over five decades gets obliterated from the people’s memory.
Given the present political situation in the country, BJP looks to be in a position to sail through all the Assembly elections without difficulty until the Lok Sabha polls. What is benefiting the BJP is a weak opposition, including Congress. Emotive issues like “Mandir-Masjid” are dominating the public discourse where the issues of price rise and unemployment have been relegated to the background. Congress may be accusing the BJP of disturbing the communal harmony for political gains, but the saffron party believes that the grand old party has already fallen into its political trap. The Gyanvapi and Mathura issues are a shot in the arms of the BJP, even though the saffron party is not directly involved in any of these cases. But an atmosphere favouring saffron politics is building up as a result of the opposition raising these issues frequently. BJP leaders are confident that the UP’s strategy will ensure the party’s victory in other states as well. PM Modi’s image and CM Adityanath’s decisions worked together to bring BJP electoral wins in UP and Uttarakhand. Taking a cue from the UP experiment, BJP national president J.P. Nadda spoke eloquently about dynastic politics, terming the Congress as a party of “brother and sister” (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra).Addressing the leaders, PM Modi also hit out at dynastic politics in what was a clear message for the Congress. The BJP is in direct fight with Congress in poll-bound states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The dynastic politics will be a major issue for the BJP in these states, apart from the issues of bulldozer and law and order. The internal fight in BJP keeps Congress’ hopes alive in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. But what could give Congress anxious moments is that the BJP has tried to strike a balance between different factions during the meeting.
However, the faction of former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje is a big challenge for the BJP high command. Similarly, the leadership has to take a call on the fate of MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Change of guard in Tripura has already started giving sleepless nights to the sitting CMs in other states. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai’s sudden Delhi visit has also sparked speculation about a change of guard in the southern state. The Raje camp in Rajasthan is not that aggressive now since the big BJP victory in UP. That is the reason why all factions looked united in all the BJP programmes in Rajasthan. State BJP president Satish Puniya gained more political strength due to this. However, half a dozen leaders, including Raje are in the race for CM post, in the desert state.