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Ahead of 2024 LS polls, why BJP has picked Sunil Bansal to be its point person in UP once again

BJP national general secy and in charge of Bengal, Odisha & Telangana, Sunil Bansal has been made in charge of UP to oversee Maha Jansampark Abhiyan that marks 9 yrs of Modi govt.

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Lucknow: Setting the stage for the 2024 general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed national general secretary Sunil Bansal the in charge of the its mega-outreach campaign (Maha Jansampark Abhiyan) in Uttar Pradesh.

The Maha Jansampark Abhiyan is a month-long campaign to be launched on 30 May to mark the completion of nine years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

Bansal’s appointment assumes significance as during his stint as general secretary, he was known as a “parallel power centre” in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP government is led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and the two reportedly did not share a warm relationship.

Speaking about the new responsibility, Bansal, however, told ThePrint that one should not read too much into his latest assignment. “Such temporary campaigns are usually organised by the party. There should be no political meanings drawn from it,” he said.

Asked if he would be visible in future activities of the party in UP, Bansal said he would continue to show up (if the party required so).

During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Bansal, along with then BJP general secretary in charge of UP Amit Shah, was tasked with rebuilding the party in the country’s most populous state, which sends a total of 111 MPs to both houses of Parliament — more than any other state.

A close confidant of Shah, he played an important role and acted as a crucial link between the central and state party leadership during the 2014 general election when the party recorded a huge victory by winning 71 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP.

While Shah went on to become party president, Bansal was named UP general secretary (organisation) and oversaw the party’s consecutive sweeping victories in UP in the 2017 and 2022 assembly polls.

Last August, he was elevated as the party’s national general secretary and in charge of three opposition-ruled states — West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana.

UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla told ThePrint, “Bansal ji has been given the charge of four states under the (Maha Jansampark) abhiyan. He has served as the state general secretary (organisation) and understands UP very well, the region and social strata here. As he has been made in charge of the campaign, his presence will definitely boost the campaign… central ministers are also set to arrive for the campaign.”

Asked if Bansal would be present in other events of the party in the future, he said that Bansal has vast “experience on his side and the party would benefit from the same in the times to come”.

Another UP BJP leader recounted how Bansal, as the state general secretary, ensured that the organisation and the state government work “remain separate”.

“BJP has at least 20 workers on every booth. The organisation’s shakti kendras, booths, prakoshths (cells) were formed under him and his presence inspires confidence among workers. This led to destruction of SP-BSP coalition in 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he said.


Also Read: How split in opposition votes helped BJP sweep UP mayor election. BSP biggest loser in civic polls


Bansal’s work in UP

Ahead of the campaign, on 18 May, Bansal was present at a party workers’ meeting of the  Braj region in Bareilly district, where the BJP’s MPs, MLAs, office bearers of the state and district units were present. UP BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary, Agra MP S.P. Baghel and Bareilly MP Santosh Gangwar were among those in attendance.

Speaking to party workers, Bansal highlighted the importance of UP in Indian politics and told them about the expectations of the party leadership from them and that they always delivered on the expectations, the BJP said in a statement issued after the meeting.

“Bansal ji said that going door-to-door and person-to-person, party workers have to communicate to the public about the welfare schemes of the central government and the work carried out by the BJP-government for fulfilling its promise of reformation of the country and culture,” a party leader who attended the meeting told ThePrint.

The BJP has improved its performance in the Bareilly region in the recently held municipal polls and has won two of the nagar palika chairperson seats that the party lost in 2017 and improved its tally of the councillor seats too.

The party won the Bareilly mayoral seat with a margin of over 56,000 votes.

A party leader from the Braj region, requesting anonymity, who was also present in the meeting, told ThePrint that Bansal’s visit was to send a message and came as a shot in the arm for workers.

“Bansal ji is a national leader and a veteran now. He has built the organisation in UP and has special affinity with the state because everyone knows him here and he worked on grassroots here. So many workers are on important positions in the party, thanks to him…” the leader said.

BJP’s campaign plan

Party sources told ThePrint that as part of the party’s Maha Jansampark Abhiyan, several programmes and events have been planned to reach out to eminent and influential members of society including sportsmen and Padma Shri awardees. This is being done to counter any potential impact of the ongoing wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demand the arrest of BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who stands accused of sexual harassment.

Along with press conferences that would be addressed by local MPs and ministers in charge of each district, traders’ conference, social media volunteers’ meet, overview of development works, a prabudhh sammelan (intellectuals’ conference) will be organised by the party on 25 June. The party will also observe 25 June as a ‘black day’ as it marks the 48th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency.

According to the party’s official programme, lawyers, doctors, engineers, professors, principals, chartered accountants, social workers, retired officers, littérateurs, poets, managers of educational institutions, among others, will be invited for the conference.

A special outreach has also been planned for families of martyrs, Padma Shri awardees, sportspersons, artists, industrialists, doctors and former judges. 

“In a special outreach campaign, every district unit has to ensure that it reaches out to 250 families of influential persons. As part of this, local MP, MLA will personally visit their houses. A list of such families is being prepared which will include senior sportspersons, Padma Shri awardees. Sportspersons would include wrestlers too and we will reach out to all influential sections of society,” said a BJP leader from Ayodhya, requesting anonymity.

“The social media outreach will be extended to village-level. Villagers are very tech savvy and are especially used to operating YouTube, WhatsApp, etc.,” the leader added.

The UP BJP has constituted an eight-member coordination committee at the state level to supervise the campaign. The team will work under the supervision of party’s state general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla and Sanjay Rai, according to another senior party leader.

(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)


Also Read: What the rare second extension to UP chief secretary signifies about Yogi-Modi relations


 

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