The BJP’s concern has grown in Uttar Pradesh as Dalit votes have shifted towards the Samajwadi Party. The party will now launch a campaign to reconnect with Dalits. On Saturday, national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh held a four-hour meeting with MPs, MLAs and district presidents from the Kanpur division.
BL Santosh asked the MLAs,
How many votes did the BJP candidate receive in your Assembly constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election? What was the reason for the defeat wherever the BJP lost? How will you make up for this in 2027, and how will you win the election?
The MLAs said that in 2017 and 2019, a large number of Dalit votes that had moved away from the Bahujan Samaj Party came to the BJP. The BJP also received a substantial share of Dalit votes in 2022. However, in 2024, Dalit voters became alienated because of narratives such as the Constitution being changed and reservations being scrapped, and shifted towards the Samajwadi Party.
Party leaders acknowledged that the Dalit vote is still shifting towards the Samajwadi Party. This could pose a major challenge for the BJP in the 2027 election. BL Santosh and Dharampal Singh urged party leaders to remain united and fight the Assembly election together. They said there should be no conflict between MLAs and MPs or between MLAs and district presidents.
Read BL Santosh’s three key points
1- People no longer like VIP culture
B.L. Santosh said that people no longer like VIP culture. Convoys of vehicles, sirens and getting tolls waived send the wrong message. This harms the party as well as MPs, MLAs and district presidents. Launch campaigns to bring members of the Dalit community and Dalit leaders into the party. Implement the Ambedkar statue scheme. Organise Sant Ravidas Jayanti programmes effectively and use them to bring Dalits closer to the BJP.
2- Do not limit social media to a photo album
B.L. Santosh said that social media is now the biggest political tool. Do not limit it to photographs and albums. Make full use of it in preparing for the elections. It can be used to convey the party’s message to the public quickly and effectively. However, social media must not be misused.
The meeting continued from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. BJP office-bearers from Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya and Farrukhabad attended it.
The meeting continued from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. BJP office-bearers from Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya and Farrukhabad attended it.
3- Get the names of women deleted during SIR reinstated
- L. Santosh said that the names of a large number of voters had been deleted during SIR. This included voters who support the BJP ideology. B. L. Santosh said that the process of adding names was still under way. He directed party workers to have the names of those whose names had been deleted added again. He also raised the issue of the low gender ratio among women voters. He said that after marriage, the names of many women are deleted from the voter lists in their maternal homes but are not added to the lists in their marital homes. He directed party workers to have the names of such women added to the voter list, as women are a major vote bank for the BJP.
Meeting lasted 4 hours, defeated candidates were also consulted
The meeting lasted from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. BJP office-bearers from Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya and Farrukhabad attended it. State General Secretary Shankar Lal Lodhi and Kanpur Regional President Ram Kishore Sahu were also present. BL Santosh also spoke to candidates who had lost the 2022 election. He asked them how many votes they had received and by how many votes the victory or defeat was decided.
Courtesy : Bhaskar English
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