The rally is scheduled for 20 January, and local leaders say massive attendance will show that digitisation is reaching every nook and corner.
New Delhi: Even in states where the BJP is in power and polls are far away, the wheels of the party’s election machine keep turning.
Already, Amit Shah has put the party in campaign mode for the 2019 general elections. Party president Shah will address a massive rally in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, on 20 January.
Another huge show-of-strength rally is planned in Jind, Haryana, on 15 February, for which the BJP’s state unit aspires to gather over one lakh people.
Pay digitally to attend
The party sees the Varanasi rally – titled Yuva Udghosh – as a significant one. Unlike other events, those planning to attend it, mostly the youth, have paid a nominal fee of Rs 20 through digital transactions.
Saurabh Srivastava, the BJP MLA from Varanasi Cantt, said the rally will be proof that digitisation is reaching the masses, especially the youth.
“The BJP is emerging not as a political party but as a social organisation, and thus, the youth are coming into its fold. Everyone attending this event has paid Rs 20 online using an app or online payment mode. This is evidence of digitisation reaching every nook and corner,” he said.
The rally comes in the backdrop of the Prime Minister exhorting the party to target first-time voters born around the turn of the millennium, and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha has been asked to conduct programmes to woo them. Meanwhile, party general secretaries and other leaders have been asked to supervise efforts to bring young voters in the BJP’s fold.
The Jind plan
Meanwhile, the Haryana unit is focusing on the bike rally it has planned for 15 February in Jind district. It is expected that more than one lakh motorcycle-riding youth will be called on to attend the rally.
The state unit is also trying to impress Shah by presenting him cheques for the party’s lifetime membership fund.
“We have planned to contribute approximately Rs 10 crore on the day of the rally. The figure is not much, considering we have a huge mass base in the state, and many are becoming life members of the party,” said a Haryana BJP leader.
Many more such events are expected to follow soon across states.