Setting a lofty target for its electoral performance in the upcoming general elections, the BJP sounded the poll bugle on Tuesday with a new slogan “Teesri Baar Modi Sarkar; Ab ki Baar 400 Paar.”
The BJP has set a goal to secure 400 plus seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which is 100 more than the party achieved in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 400-seat target, which has been gradually revealed by the party’s leaders following a significant victory in three Hindi heartland States, was officially endorsed at a high-level meeting chaired by its national president, JP Nadda. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, several Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, and other top leaders. State leaders and some MPs too participated in the day-long meeting at the BJP office.
Sources said the agenda of the meeting, however, was convened to review preparations for the consecration of the Ram Mandir, but it soon shifted focus to initiatives for the Lok Sabha as the party is considering combating the Opposition alliance under the INDIA group. In addition to the slogan, the meeting, which went on for more than two hours, also focused on the organisational strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls this year. Sources said conveners and co-conveners have been deputised for every Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seat.
Further intensifying its campaign efforts, the party announced that tours by prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister, and Nadda in Lok Sabha clusters, will commence soon. This strategy, stemming from the “cluster-making formula” discussed in the last BJP office-bearers meeting attended by PM Modi, is aimed at maximising the party’s electoral outreach.
Additionally, the party will also be organising a mega programme from January 25 to March 25. BJP workers will help devotees willing to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya from different parts of the country after the January 22 consecration ceremony, which is a 60-day drive beginning from January 25. Though the cost of travel will be borne by individuals, BJP cadres will assist them with information and ticketing.
The BJP workers have been advised to participate in all events and functions after the consecration ceremony. They have been advised not to use party logos or flags.
Sources said the party has also decided on an outreach programme to highlight the contributions of RSS and the BJP in the construction of the Ram Mandir. Sources further mentioned that the party has devised a detailed plan to leverage the religious and cultural significance of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in its poll campaign to garner votes in the Lok Sabha polls this year.
The BJP has formulated a micro-level plan to leverage the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. This plan includes organising free travel to Ayodhya, distributing akshat (sacred rice) to households to invite them to the holy town, and arranging booth-level programmes to connect with new voters. During the meeting, the akshat distribution programme and the arrangement for taking people to Ayodhya post the consecration event were also reviewed.
Volunteers of the RSS and its affiliates embarked on a 15-day nationwide door-to-door public outreach programme on Monday, encouraging people to join the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya by offering prayers at temples in their neighborhoods.
“The BJP leadership has given a clear message that workers across all booths must provide all required assistance to those who want to visit the Ram temple,” another BJP leader said, adding, “BJP workers have been instructed to celebrate January 22 like Diwali.”
The party has instructed the Union Railway Minister to ensure the smooth travel of 35 trains to and from Ayodhya. He has also been asked to ensure that 430 places are connected to Ayodhya from across the map of India.
The BJP units in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring States have been assigned the task of ensuring proper arrangements for people visiting the Ram temple in Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony, according to a source in the party.
During its poll campaign, the BJP will also highlight how opposition parties attempted to impede the temple’s construction. In a related development, the BJP has started its 20-day “Luv-Kush Yatra” from Bihar’s Patna to Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.
The yatra serves the dual purpose of celebrating the consecration of the idol at the Ram Temple and engaging the influential agricultural castes of Koeri (Kushwaha) and Kurmi, collectively known as “Luv-Kush” in Bihar’s political parlance.
The culmination of the “Luv-Kush Yatra” will coincide with the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The BJP’s “Luv-Kush Yatra” is viewed as an attempt by the party to split Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s core constituency of Luv-Kush.
It is seen as the BJP’s strategic move to shore up its political base in Bihar. The BJP has also planned havans and public meetings during the yatra that will pass through Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Valmiki Nagar, Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar, Nawada, Nalanda, and Buxar before concluding in Ayodhya in neighboring Uttar Pradesh.
Notably, the first phase of the temple is nearing completion, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in the “pran pratishtha” of the Ram Lalla idol on January 22.
