Experiment of generational change started in the Assembly elections will continue.
BJP ticket aspirants, who have already contested parliamentary elections on two or more occasions, are likely to face an uphill task in getting a renomination in May, say party sources, pointing toward a serious effort to speed up the experiment of generational change that was started during the Assembly elections in heartland states.
A ticket could be given to a two-time contestant only in the rare situation where compulsions of social engineering or non-availability of winnable candidates forces the BJP to turn towards such an old war horse, said sources.
Also, the BJP has decided to stick to its policy of one family, one ticket during the parliamentary elections. Sources said the fielding of central leaders in the recent Assembly elections was one such attempt to weed out “family rule”. Many leaders were fielded from seats of their relatives and the experiment appeared to have paid rich dividend.
Generational change in the party is not a new concept in the BJP, which started implementing it soon after the 2014 Lok Sabha election. As seen during ticket distribution in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and government formation in these states, the BJP has shown greater faith in new faces.
In Rajasthan, first-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma has been made the Chief Minister, while in MP 61% of ministers and in Chhattisgarh 55% ministers are first-time legislators.
This change introduced in states is likely to be developed as a blueprint for the future as well, sources said.
The party think-tank is keen on creating a rich pool of leaders from all communities so that it does not reach a point where it finds itself without a face to counter a strong Opposition representative, say sources.
Also, the BJP is planning to turn a few of its leaders towards the social sector after the coming Lok Sabha election. Social disparities based on caste and community lines will be attended to in a focused manner, said an insider.
Earlier, the BJP’s two-day meeting of national and state office bearers saw top party leaders share the roadmap for improving the party’s performance on those 160 Lok Sabha seats where its performance was found lacking in 2019. With the party aiming to take its tally beyond the last time’s 303, special focus is being given to booth management and intensive campaign in southern states such like Telangana and Karnataka, besides West Bengal.
In specially curated sessions, party office-bearers were told to motivate workers on the ground to publicise “Modi ki Guarantee” or the welfare and development work done by the Modi government in the last nine years and expand the public outreach on the consecration of the Ram Mandir, which is scheduled for 22 January next year.
Sources said the PM has put special emphasis on office-bearers working in mission mode and carrying forward the party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha elections while keeping in mind the youth, poor, women and farmers, the four top priority social segments. The office bearers were also asked to give inputs so that the implementation of welfare schemes of the government could be taken to the saturation point during the course of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.
The Supreme Court’s endorsement of the abrogation of Article 370 and the Modi government’s fulfilment of its election promise on Jammu and Kashmir is also likely to get a special mention during the Lok Sabha campaign, said a person privy to the minutes of the two-day closed door meeting.
Apart from booth management strategies for victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leaders also talked about crisis management and the possible planks that the rivals may use in next year’s mega contest.