Desperate to revive its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh and avert a setback in Bihar, Team Modi is eyeing to lure "winnable" candidates form rival parties. These two States account for 120 seats, and the BJP won just 22 out of them in the 2009 lok Sabha election.
Sources privy to the negotiations told The Pioneer that the BJP's poll strategists have "approached" at least three Thakur MPs in UP. They include a Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Bundelkhand, a Samajwadi Party MP from Devi Patan region and a Congress MP from Awadh. The BJP considers Bundelkhand as an area to improve its strength while Awadh has remained a stronghold of the Congress.
"Another candidate who was defeated by the BJP in Ruhilkhand region has also been approached. He secured sizeable number of votes in last lok Sabha election. The BJP candidate on this seat will, in most probability, shift to another seat and the defeat candidate could be fielded from where he was defeated," BJP sources said.
BJP's general secretary and in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Amit Shah is preparing the profile of every lok Sabha seats and is expected to share it with party's campaign committee chief Narendra Modi by the month-end. "This report will form basis of Modi's plan for Uttar Pradesh," sources claimed.
Shah is a close confidant of Modi and there has also been an intense speculation about Modi testing electoral waters from UP in the next Parliamentary elections.
Similarly for Bihar, BJP strategists are hopeful that at least two JD(U) MPs would switch sides before the elections. They include an MP whose official accommodation in lutyens' Delhi was used to perform a yagna for Modi.
A recent meeting between a former Union Minister belonging to Trinamool Congress and Amit Shah has also triggered speculation that the former was ready to switch side.
The BJP parliamentary board is also expected to discuss in its July 18 meeting a proposal from Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy to merge his outfit with the BJP. "Modi had told delegates at the recent party conclave in Goa that he has not heard news about people joining BJP, though it was a common affair till 1996-98. He suggested the BJP to encourage more and more people to join the party so as to create an "atmosphere" of winnability," a senior BJP leader told The Pioneer.
Those involved in preparation of party's campaign for 2014 election claim Modi's idea is to narrow the divide between the vote share of the BJP and the Congress. "The BJP got 1.71 crore less votes than the Congress in 2004. In the next elections, Congress got 11.91 crore votes against BJP's 7.84 crore. The gap was of over 4 crore votes. Modi's entire focus is to narrow this divide between the two parties. This is possible only when we have winnable candidates on our side," they claimed.
Through its upcoming programme the party would try to maximise its share among the Youth and women votes.
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