New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s rout in Karnataka earlier this month has set alarm bells ringing in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, with demotivation among party workers and the tussle between the old guard and the new, being some of the issues flagged by senior leaders in a closed-door meeting Friday, ThePrint has learnt. The BJP leaders are also believed to have talked about the growing disconnect between the government and its ministers and the party organisation and workers in the state.
The BJP’s tally in the 224-member Karnataka assembly — a state governed by it since 2019 — fell from 104 in 2018 to just 66 in the 10-May polls, while the Congress won a clear majority, bagging 135 seats.
Now all eyes are on Madhya Pradesh, also a BJP-governed state, which is scheduled to hold assembly elections later this year, along with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is serving as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the fourth time, is perceived to be battling anti-incumbency and fatigue factor, according to a state BJP functionary who did not wish to be named. Despite that he is believed to be “the best bet” to lead the party into the elections, party leaders told ThePrint.
It was in these conditions that senior BJP leaders in MP held a state executive committee meeting, to review preparation for the upcoming assembly elections.
BJP MP vice president Bhagnandass Sabnani told ThePrint that the CM had asked workers to ensure the party’s victory in the state, claiming that the scenario in Karnataka and MP are different. Quoting Chouhan, Sabnani said, “While the Janata Dal (Secular)’s vote shifted to the Congress in Karnataka, helping it win, in MP politics is bipolar and our welfare schemes are enough for victory.”
‘Workers are our asset’
One of the BJP leaders present at the meeting told ThePrint Monday that “raising the issue of party workers’ demotivation and the need to motivate them, party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya [had] said that ministers who are in charge of a district don’t meet party workers during their visit.”
The leader, who requested anonymity, added: “He [Vijayvargiya] highlighted the issue of lack of enthusiasm among the cadre… He said workers are our asset and if there is anyone who can defeat the party (BJP) in elections, it is not Congress but our workers’ resentment and demotivation.”
To address this situation, Vijayvargiya suggested that before any government representative visited any district, workers should be provided with their itinerary.
The BJP leader ThePrint spoke to added that the party national general secretary had said that ministers can also visit workers’ homes to have a meal, which will not only help the workers air their grouse, but will motivate them.
The BJP leader further said that state party president V.D. Sharma had stressed the need of reaching out to the public, underlining the welfare policies introduced by the state, as well as those by the BJP-led central government.
According to the BJP leader, Sharma had said that booth strengthening work has been done with great success by the party. However, the regional general secretary (organisation) of the state, Ajay Jamwal “cautioned the party leadership about the disconnect between party workers and the state government as well as lack of organisational robustness,” the leader added.
A second BJP leader and MLA present at the meeting, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told ThePrint that: “Jamwal ji said there is a disconnect between old workers of the party and new workers of the party… He also cautioned the party about the lack of workers’ enthusiasm on the ground.”
According to the MLA, Jamwal highlighted that while the party was strong on paper, having taken booth-strengthening measures such as digitising booth workers’ data, he suggested that party functionaries should engage with workers on the field, as many whose names are there are on paper are not seen on ground.
A third party leader present at the meeting told ThePrint that “ninety per cent of the meeting was spent discussing the one-month pan-India outreach programme being planned by the central leadership to mark nine years of the Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi government, with national general secretary Tarun Chugh presenting a plan for a month-long organisation programme in the state, which included a ‘missed call initiative’ to connect to new voters and meeting social media influencers in their area…”
The leader added: “Even during his programmes in the district, the CM is giving thrust on meeting a few workers before or after the programme, to address their concerns and motivate them.”
‘Chouhan best bet’
From pushing a Hindutva narrative to appeasing different caste groups — lessons on Lord Parashuram in school curriculum and honorarium to temple priests — and targeting women groups, especially by announcing Ladli Bahna Scheme which offers a Rs 1,000 monthly financial aid to women, the Chouhan government is not leaving any stone unturned to woo voters for the upcoming elections.
BJP’s worry about Madhya Pradesh is understandable as Chouhan is the only state CM from the BJP old guard who is still at the helm of affairs. Among the three north Indian states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh which will go to polls this year, MP is the only state where BJP is in power.
After losing Karnataka, the party can’t afford to lose Madhya Pradesh, but there are many similarities between the two states.
In both states, BJP came to power from ‘Operation Lotus’ — a term used to refer to a party strategy of engineering defections from other parties to consolidate power. Factionalism is another major issue plaguing both states.
After the 2018 polls, Congress had formed the government in Madhya Pradesh after the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and four independents helped it cross the majority mark of 116 in the 230-member Assembly. Congress leader Kamal Nath became the CM. However, in March 2020, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia rebelled and joined BJP with 22 of his loyal MLAs, helping the BJP form government.
The only factor in Chouhan’s favour is that “he is not discredited”, in terms of corruption charges as former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, said a fourth BJP leader. However, according to leaders present at Friday’s state executive committee meeting, there is apprehension that cadre fatigue and disconnect between the party and government may dent the party’s prospects in the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, the second BJP leader and MLA mentioned above said “now, there is no time to think on [change in] leadership… Shivraj is the best bet among others”.
Echoing him, the fourth BJP leader added: “Now the time of governance is over, now the time has come to fill plugs whether at the organisational front or correct messaging, and communication… However, we will have to address our shortcomings as early as possible.”
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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