BJP’s art of campaigning; 89 leaders for 89 seats hit poll road

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, November 19: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s election management is now centred on pulling all strings to create buzz to push the might of the party workers in the full gear. The BJP’s 27 years rule in Gujarat also brings the challenge to shrug off the inertia in the party workers and also counter the boredom of the people with same faces and similar slogans.

For the first phase of 89 Assembly seats, the ruling BJP has brought in 89 leaders from across the country, principally from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, besides a few from the national capital. This is ‘carpet-bombing’ model of the BJP to kick-start election campaign in a poll-bound state.

“UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, both the deputy CMs and some other senior leaders have come here as part of the carpet-bombing of the election campaign on the first day of the launch of the electioneering,” said former UP Minister Siddharth Nath Singh.

He stated that there is no challenge for the BJP in this year’s Assembly elections. “The only factor that is playing out is that of Narendra Modi. There is no contest,” said Singh. Gujarat has a total of 182 Assembly seats, and the BJP had won 99 constituencies in the 2017 state polls. The BJP had won 111 seats in the 2012 Assembly elections in Gujarat when Modi was still Chief Minister of the state.

While Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting almost all the seats in the first phase is seeking to test the appeal of the party in Gujarat, the AIMIM is also in the fray by fielding candidates on six seats. Modi will again lead the campaign charge in Gujarat, while Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah is predictably busy micro-managing the poll campaign after bombarding the local news channels with interviews. Congress had won 77 Assembly seats in the last Assembly elections, and Shaktisinh Gohil is leading the charge for the party, banking on the support base in the rural parts of the state, as well as the core constituencies of the Dalit, Tribals, Muslims and OBCs.

While the BJP is leaning heavily on the Modi factor, the saffron outfit has denied tickets to as many as 38 sitting legislators in the Gujarat polls. After Modi, Gujarat has also seen three Chief Ministers – Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani and the incumbent Bhupendra Patel.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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