Chandigarh: Smriti Irani has a Z-category security cover. But she told Haryana BJP office-bearers that she often steps out without it.
The message was meant for the party’s district presidents, many of whom are rarely seen without a gunman. Irani, the BJP national general secretary and Haryana in-charge, told them on Thursday that leaders cannot mingle with people while surrounded by security. They should surrender their guards, she said, and reach out with humility and without any ostentation.
It was her first visit to Haryana after being appointed the party’s state in-charge. She reached Panchkula on Thursday with co-in-charge Bhola Singh for organisational meetings over two days.
District party presidents in Haryana normally move with security. A senior police officer told ThePrint that the state police headquarters has not officially provided security to them. But most have been given one policeman each by their respective superintendents of police. Some are seen travelling in a cavalcade of vehicles.
Requesting anonymity, a BJP district president told ThePrint that Irani’s observations, though general and for all, came in the context of Gurugram District President Sarvapriya Tyagi often posting reels of his activities on social media, many with security guards.
He said that Irani largely focussed on how the party can reach out to masses and ensure that the benefits of the party’s welfare policies could reach the masses.
The BJP returned to power in Haryana for a third straight term in 2024. Now, it has started preparing for the next assembly election. Irani’s visit was meant to set that work in motion at the booth level.
The party has asked for 11-member committees to be constituted, or reconstituted where they already exist, at every booth in the state within three months. ‘Panna Pramukhs’ will be appointed to look after individual pages of the electoral rolls. The aim, state president Archana Gupta, told mediapersons in Panchkula, is that no worker is left without a defined responsibility.
State and district office-bearers will also undertake district visits, with overnight stays. They are expected to meet senior and longstanding workers, review how prepared each booth is, and make sure the booth-level work is actually done. The party has also asked workers to help eligible people to get the benefits of welfare schemes run by the Central and Haryana governments.
Irani began with a meeting at the party’s state office in Panchkula, with Archana Gupta, organisation general secretary Pawan Rana and state general secretaries Gopal Sharma, Satyaprakash Jarawata and Ved Phulla.
She then held separate meetings with state office-bearers, district presidents and district in-charges. Former MLAs, old office-bearers, and current and former chairmen and vice-chairmen of boards and corporations were also on her list.
On Thursday night, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini hosted a dinner for her at his residence. About 25 leaders were present, among them Union minister Manohar Lal, Rajya Sabha member Subhash Barala, former minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Pawan Rana, and former state president Mohan Lal Badoli, besides Archana Gupta. Party leaders said the talk revolved around how the government is working and what feedback it gets from the ground.
A spokesperson of the BJP told The Print that Irani would also look at the 42 seats the BJP lost in the last assembly election, when it won 48 and formed the government. She will assess organisational weaknesses in those constituencies and the role of local leadership.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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