Over the past few days, senior BJP leaders — including national general secretary Sunil Bansal, CM Mohan Yadav, state president V D Sharma, and general secretaries and presidents of various morchas — have held marathon meetings to chalk out the election game plan. The party has settled on conducting mass outreach programmes to target welfare beneficiaries, strengthening booth-level workers and celebrating the Ram Mandir consecration, to drive home the message of “Modi Guarantees”.

 

The BJP will divide the state into seven clusters, each with an election office and war room. The IT Cell and party workers will “target beneficiaries of central and state schemes through its massive outreach programmes”, a BJP insider said, adding that beneficiary outreach by booth workers had helped the party secure 163 seats in the Assembly elections. “Clusters will be formed based on geographical regions such as Gwalior-Chambal, Bundelkhand, and Vindhya, ensuring localised campaign strategies,” said a BJP leader.

 

The party’s senior leaders have also been tasked with ensuring that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a government initiative to raise awareness about flagship central schemes, is a success.

 

“Every day, a van reaches two gram panchayats and stops for about four hours and provides information about the schemes for the welfare of the poor. BJP district presidents and district in-charges have been asked to contact the nodal officer of the Sankalp Yatra in the district and ensure that benefits reach every eligible person so that not a single eligible person is deprived. All leaders have been asked to remain visible,” said a BJP functionary.

 

In the coming days, the party also aims to take advantage of the Ram Mandir idol consecration ceremony. Party workers have been asked to decorate their village temples on January 22 and organise prayers and feasts. Booth workers have been asked to ensure that at least 11 lamps are lit outside every home to celebrate the ceremony.

 

“We will be carrying the message to the people that the BJP has fulfilled its mission, and ensure the people know that the Modi Guarantees will work for them,” said a party worker.

 

BJP workers have also been encouraged to join the NaMo app, update their profiles, become “Vikas Bharat Ambassadors”, and connect at least 10 non-party members to the app. The party has also been busy assigning responsibilities to the youth, women, OBC, minority, and IT wings to mobilise their constituencies. These organisations have been asked to increase public participation in government events and “increase activity in the seats the BJP lost in the Assembly elections”.

 

“It was these frontal organisations that ran their campaigns during the Assembly elections much before the official campaign began. They have been asked to maintain constant contact with women, the poor, farmers, and the youth. They are currently coming up with a list of programmes for the respective community and caste,” said a BJP leader.

 

State BJP secretary Rajneesh Aggarwal told The Indian Express, “Most of the focus will be on the PM Vishwakarma Yojana and other such schemes. The party workers will be a bridge between the people and the government. We will also completely reorient our Assembly election booth-level management to the Lok Sabha elections and that process is underway. We have got a booth-level analysis of how we did in every booth, we are changing our strategy to get 60% votes in every Lok Sabha seat.”

 

The BJP won 28 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and missed out on Chhindwara that former Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath won by 37,536 votes. The BJP will now focus its might to wrest this seat from the Congress. Despite the drubbing, the Opposition party won all seven Assembly seats in Chhindwara in the Assembly polls.

 

“Our leaders who lost in the Assembly elections have largely said they lost as Kamal Nath was projected as CM and Chhindwara voted for him. In the Lok Sabha polls, that is not a factor and the leaders have been asked to throw their might at securing this seat,” said a senior leader.

 

Aggarwal said, “All assembly seats are important. But this time, the Congress does not have the same advantages it enjoyed in 2019, when Kamal Nath was CM. Now people know they can be defeated, we worked on Chhindwara for two to three years. We will use our organisation and welfare schemes and ensure Nakul Nath is defeated.