In an attempt to examine the gaps in the party strategy, BJP president Rajnath Singh will, on Thursday, have a brainstorming session with party’s 145 candidates who lost their lok Sabha seats, collect feedback and suggest steps to plug the chinks in the organisational armour at the national level.
The meeting is part of a “continuous effort” to not to lose focus on organisational issues while the party’s top leaders are busy in governance at the Centre, according to sources.
They said a live momentum to keep party in fine fiddle would be maintained with an eye on coming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The exercise is also in the light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction that complacency should not be allowed to set in post-lok Sabha victory and formation of BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre.
Rajnath would discuss with the party candidates - many losing their deposits and others defeated by narrow margins - and assess the “disconnect” if any that led to their loss even while the party recorded a clear majority under the “Modi-wave”, the sources maintained. Party general secretary (organisation) Ram lal would be part of the deliberations.
The BJP had fielded 427 candidates of which 282 won their elections, the largest being in Uttar Pradesh where it bagged 71 out of 80 lok Sabha seats and together with the NDA a total of 73 seats. The NDA contested a total of 542 seats and won 336 seats. In UP, the BJP could even win Muslim-dominated seats of Rampur and Moradabad.
In the 2014 general elections, 7,502 of the 8,748 candidates lost their deposits (registering less than one-sixth of total valid votes). The BJP candidates lost their deposits in 62 constituencies while the Congress lost their deposits in 179 constituencies. A major overhauling of the BJP’s central and state office-bearers is expected once a new party head in place of the incumbent chief is announced.