New Delhi: Concluding the two-day BJP national executive meeting Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on party workers for a mega outreach to the marginalised sections of the society. Nine states have their assembly elections this year and the BJP could benefit from the support of these communities.
PM Modi also called party workers to hit top gear in “400 days” left for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and aim for two-thirds majority.
While this was not the party’s last national executive meeting before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the event was significant since four states — Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Karnataka — go to polls between February and May this year.
With elections around the corner, the party also extended its president J.P. Nadda’s tenure. Here are five key takeaways from the BJP national executive:
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Nadda’s term extended
The BJP national executive extended party president J.P. Nadda’s tenure, which was to end on 20 January, till 2024.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the media that the decision was taken since organisational polls could not take place due to the pandemic. But party leaders told ThePrint the main reason is Nadda’s equation with the top two decision-makers within the party — PM Modi and Shah — coupled with all the elections lined up this year.
Better outreach
Despite its best efforts, the BJP has only moderately been successful in reaching out to the Muslim community — it recently won the bypoll in UP’s Rampur assembly constituency, the stronghold of Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Azam Khan. In fact, the election was necessitated as sitting MLA Khan was disqualified following a sentence in a 2019 hate speech case.
There is also talk of elections in Jammu and Kashmir this year and PM Modi said the party should reach out to Sikhs, Christians, and the Bohra and Pasmanda communities among Muslims so as to dispel their sense of alienation. He said the party should not focus on votes but on bringing these communities within its fold.
Sources within the party told ThePrint a large section of the Christian community has still not warmed up to the BJP. The party gets Christian votes in Goa but not in Kerala and the Northeastern states, they pointed out.
They added that farm laws, which were eventually repealed, alienated the Sikhs.
For expanding the party base, it has to reach out to communities that traditionally vote for Opposition parties, the PM said.
Modi’s image
In its resolution, the BJP national executive slammed the Opposition for portraying a negative image of Modi. The party’s concern over the PM’s image comes from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, which many feel has helped the Opposition party establish a connection with the public.
Modi’s image is the party’s most credible asset, said party leaders, adding that the coming G20 Summit will only enhance the PM’s image as a “vishwa guru”.
“The Opposition continuously ran negative campaigns against the BJP and used abusive language to attack the PM on many issues such as Pegasus, Rafael deal, Enforcement Directorate money laundering, Central Vista, economic basis-reservation, demonetisation. All these cases were fought in court and the judgment has been in favour of the central government. The SC crushed the Opposition’s negative campaigns and exposed them through legal responses,” Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said to the press on the sidelines of the national executive meeting Monday.
Lauding the PM for boosting the country’s image on the international stage, she added, “On the global stage, due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, India’s image has been enhanced, be in the G20 (presidency), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (chairmanship), or the UN Security Council short-term leadership.”
Focus on young voters
PM Modi asked the party to focus on the youth. Young voters comprise a huge votebank, said sources in the party. But unemployment is an issue that can alienate them, pushing them towards the Opposition, they said.
The PM suggested voters in the 18-25 age group be made aware of India’s contemporary political history and the ‘misgovernance and corruption’ of the previous governments.
“Focus on creating an awareness among the youth…,” he said.
Ways to expand voter base
Set on expanding its base in the south, the party is promoting cultural exchanges between the north and south Indian states under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (programme to promote cooperation between different states/UTs) — the central government’s Kashi Tamil Sangam was one such attempt in that direction.
The national executive resolution praised the PM for celebrating Veer Bal Diwas which was aimed at improving strained ties with the Sikh community.
Modi also called for the party to focus on border villages. The party, he said, must also play a role in the development of aspirational districts while running parallel programmes to tackle malnutrition and other such issues.
The PM also asked party workers to avoid controversies, not run after headlines but work on the grassroot level.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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