BJP unveils plan to retain all LS seats it won in 2019

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP won 62 Lok Sabha seats, and its ally Apna Dal (S) (2), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) (10), Samajwadi Party (SP) (5) and Congress (1) in UP. The SP had lost two seats — Azamgarh and Rampur — to the BJP in bypolls last year.

To strengthen its grip in the constituencies it lost, the BJP has launched Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana under which Union ministers are touring these constituencies.

“Retaining the seats that the party won in the last elections is also a challenge. The party had won 71 seats in 2014 in UP, which came down to 64 in 2019. Hence, the party has drawn a strategy to retain these seats. The preparations for the coming Lok Sabha polls in these constituencies will be started after the Urban local body elections,” said a BJP leader.

The local body elections are likely to be held in April-May.

Explaining the strategy, the leader said the party would hold group meetings at the booth level with over one crore people enrolled as its primary members through “missed calls” from their mobile phones.

Besides, the party will also reach out to each of its workers and hold meetings with them, seeking their support in poll management and publicity of the government’s achievements.

At the meetings, the workers will also be given training on poll management at the booth level and the use of various media for canvassing, including social media, said the leader.

The leader said that a party functionary at the state level had been entrusted with the responsibility to compile the profiles of those party workers and leaders (in every district) who once held positions in the party organisation from booth to state level but become inactive over some time as they felt neglected by the party after coming to power. The compiled profiles will be uploaded to the party’s portal for access by the party only.

“The party will try to convince them and seek their support in retaining the seats it won in 2019 because a win in UP is a must to form a government at the Centre in 2024. The party
will utilise their past experiences to build its future,” said the leader.

According to sources, in each Assembly segment under every Lok Sabha constituency, the party has directed local units to prepare lists of 100 influential persons and religious, social and cultural organisations so that they could be reached before the elections.

Besides this, the party will ask the Union minister in charge of each district to visit their Lok Sabha constituencies often and review the status of the development projects and welfare schemes.
The ministers need to expedite the completion of the development project by coordinating with the state and the Centre, and sitting MPs will be asked to connect with voters and ensure their presence on the ground, said another leader.