For MCD firepower, BJP reaches far and wide
Sources said leaders from BJP-ruled states have been instructed to tell voters here how the party has rolled out development works and implemented schemes for welfare of people back home.
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Among the top leaders who have campaigned is Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma who is increasingly becoming one of the BJP’s most sought-after campaigners in state elections. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)With just two weeks to go for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections, the BJP has pulled in about 5,000 leaders from across the country to woo voters in the national capital, keeping in mind the linguistic diversity in different wards. The influx, though, has led to some heartburn among local leaders, it is learnt. While BJP’s Chief Ministers and MPs being roped in has made headlines, the party has also reached out to unit presidents, zila adhyakshs (district presidents) and paarshads (councillors) from other states to lend heft to its campaign in Delhi.
“Senior leaders going to other states for campaigning during elections is usual, but this is perhaps the first time leaders lower in the hierarchy are also being involved at such a scale. This also indicates the party is cognizant of the challenge AAP poses,” said a BJP leader, adding that the party has assigned wards and assemblies to these leaders keeping in mind the demography in each.
One leader explained: “For example, Delhi has an estimated 50,000 voters from Assam and we have especially inducted 20 leaders from the state to campaign on the ground level and interact with people in their language.” On Sunday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned in Delhi’s Ghonda area.
Sources said leaders from BJP-ruled states have been instructed to tell voters here how the party has rolled out development works and implemented schemes for welfare of people back home.
“This way, even if we get 30,000-35,000 voters from a section of people, it will add to our tally,” said a source.
Besides BJP-ruled states such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, the party has also involved senior leaders from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal.
Some in the party’s local unit, though, aren’t enthusiastic about the campaign style, with one leader explaining: “Although the party aims to win 100-plus seats with its detailed plan, some Delhi workers and former councillors are feeling ignored. The party will need to find a way to appease them so they don’t work against its interests.”
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