BJP gets into LS poll mode in MP, eyeing repeat of 2019 tally of 28 out of 29

For the ruling BJP that already has an edge over the Congress in the context of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections next year, the landslide victory in the just-concluded Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh has come as a major confidence booster for the cadre.

The saffron party that had won 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh in 2019, will be looking to repeat the feat and the preparations for this have already begun, as claimed by state BJP president VD Sharma.

Sources said the ruling party is likely to hold a meeting by the end of this month wherein the cadre leaders will be asked to roll up their sleeves and begin preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP’s central leadership has also begun to identify the candidates for the general elections. Some MPs may not get tickets, as happened to a few legislators before the Assembly elections.

Senior legislators, who will not be given a ministerial berth and those heavyweights who lost the Assembly election, are also likely to be given a chance in the Lok Sabha.

The saffron party has sought to strike a balance between dominant caste groups in the state by elevating Mohan Yadav an OBC leader as the Chief Minister and making Jagdish Devda a Dalit and Rajendra Shukla a Brahmin his deputies.

The state Cabinet, which is yet to be finalised, is expected to be more strategic in terms of social engineering and fill the gap with sub-castes.

It won’t be a surprise if the BJP picks up the ministerial candidates from most of the Lok Sabha constituencies in order to ensure that the party wins the maximum number of seats.

Sources said the state leadership has been asked to prepare a list of around 40 names and at least 15-20 of them are likely to be elevated to Cabinet posts, in the first phase.

After the success of its much-touted slogan, “Modi ke mann mein MP” in the recent Assembly elections, the BJP is now all set to take it a step further in the days to come.

“Our resolution for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is ‘PM Modi on every booth.’ Our motive will be to increase the vote share in the booths where we received fewer votes and secure victory in the booths that we lost,” state BJP chief VD Sharma said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would obviously be leading the campaign like he did in the Assembly elections. However, some prominent influential leaders, especially those who have a strong base in the state’s politics, like former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the party’s National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya etc, are also likely to be given prominent roles to play.

Mohan Yadav, after assuming office, has already instructed officials to take part in the upcoming ‘Vikas Sankalp Yatra’ to promote the schemes of the Union Government.

(IANS)