BJP has seat-wise plan to woo UP voters in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

NEW DELHI: BJP and the RSS-led Sangh Parivar have been working assiduously on a plan for the past few months, which includes deployment of leaders and cadre in each of the 80 constituencies and gathering feedback from ground zero on what issues have resonance among the people, as part of its strategy to woo the electorate from Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The appointment of former Gujarat home minister Gordhan Zadaphia on Wednesday is part of the strategy to put aside differences and ego issues to utilise the services of those who have the ability to contribute to strengthening BJP in UP. Others who had fallen out with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah may also be roped in, formally or informally, before the elections.

Since UP sends the maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha and BJP had virtually reached saturation point in 2014 with NDA winning 73 seats, the party is putting all its might to mitigate the losses expected once SP and BSP join hands. RSS and VHP have not only been upping the ante on the Ram temple at Ayodhya as the general elections draw near, they have been active on the ground as well. RSS prabharis were appointed in each of the 71 seats won by BJP to get feedback on the performance of the local MP and what his or her prospects are in the next election. This feedback will play a key role in who gets the ticket in these seats.

RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal has been monitoring the developments in UP and his word will determine the fate of many in the forthcoming elections. RSS has also been advising BJP on what issues are pertinent and where the party is found lacking.

Though Modi is still very popular in UP, he is not taking any chances as can be seen from the number of BJP leaders handling his constituency Varanasi. BJP MP from Navsari in Gujarat, C R Patil, spends most of his weekends in the district to oversee the projects in the districts. Union minister Manoj Sinha, who represents neighbouring Ghazipur, is also involved in Varanasi as is BJP state unit head and Chandauli MP Mahendra Nath Pandey. Zadaphia had worked in Varanasi during the 2014 elections and later among farmers and backward castes in the state. The new election co-incharges for UP, Dushyant Gautam and Narottam Mishra, have also been chosen with specific purposes in mind. While Gautam will woo the Dalit voters, Mishra’s services will be used in the Bundelkhand region where the upper castes are in a sizeable number.