BJP to get senior ministers and national office-bearers to address rallies in all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies starting from the middle of February.
New Delhi: Senior ministers at the Centre and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are set to spread out across the country from the middle of February as part of the party’s efforts to build on the feel-good budget ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
As part of the plan, senior ministers and national BJP office bearers are expected to address rallies in all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country.
“We have been asked about the dates that we would be available to address public rallies,” a senior minister in the government told ThePrint.
Sources said that every minister has been asked to set aside six days irrespective of how busy they may be with work.
ThePrint has learnt that many ministers have already informed the party of the dates that they are available. “While we have been asked about the dates we can be available on, constituencies where we would need to go are yet to be finalised by the party,” said another minister.
Apart from ministers and senior party leaders, former chief ministers and ministers in the states will also be part of the massive outreach programme. The final dates for the campaign will depend on the functioning of Parliament.
“The party has issued a whip to all of us and so we will be stuck in Parliament till 8 February. So, we believe that the campaign will begin after that,” said a BJP MP.
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Budget and schemes
The ministers and senior party leaders are set to speak extensively on the new tax proposals in the Modi government’s interim budget, especially for farmers and the poor. The attempt is to establish the party as being pro-poor and pro-farmer.
The ministers and senior party leaders will share the details of the public welfare schemes that have been initiated by various ministries of the Modi government over its tenure. The major issues that are likely to be raised are employment generation in the country, Foreign Direct Investment attracted during the period, reduction in black money and the status of non-performing assets.
The move comes in the wake of the BJP’s defeat in three Hindi heartland states, mainly attributed to the party facing the ire of farmers in the states.
Sources said that party leaders will also be briefed on the development parameters of each constituency they would be visiting.
“The idea is to remain relevant to the people of the constituency,” a senior BJP leader said. “We want to tell people how the government has changed their lives, through its policies, in places they stay and work. People would be bored if we keep on talking about just national figures only.”
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Uh huh! And who is supposed to be running the government when they are doing the ‘criss-crossing’, as you call it?
Wonderful. Let a message of hope and positivity come through. Since many of the campaigners hold public office, travel on official account, the ECI – all the more since the Budget has been presented – might wish to issue the formal notification that brings the Code of Conduct into force. This need not be fine tuned with the actual dates of filing nominations, etc. It should ensure a level playing field, pay special attention to how government media covers events during this period.