BJP strategy to capture TS explained

BJP national president Amit Shah plans to replicate Uttar Pradesh’s success mantra in TS.

BJP sources say a multipronged caste-card, booth-level strategy, development mantra will be put into operation in TS to win both the Assembly (119 seats) and Lok Sabha (17 seats) in 2019.

Amit Shah’s brainchild, the “Panna Pramukh” system that proved to be successful in UP, will be the key strategy in TS too.

As per the “Panna pramukh” strategy, a member of the booth committee is given a page (panna) of voters list numbering about 80 voters (two sides on one sheet) to focus and woo them to vote for the BJP.

Amit Shah plans to have 10member booth committees. A booth committee will comprise a president, two vice-presidents, two secretaries, one general secretary and four members.

Each polling booth will have about 800 to 1,200 voters. There are about 32,000 polling booths in the state and BJP plans to focus on at least 20,000.

Sources say that Amit Shah obtained caste details in all Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in TS, including SCs, STs, BCs Reddys, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs and other minorities, BCs including Gouds, Yadavs, Munnurukapu, Brahmins, Veerashaiva Lingayats, Kurmas, Mudiraj and others. Tickets will be based on the dominant caste.

Besides Amit Shah, at least 10 Union ministers and national leaders have been roped in to interact with party leaders and workers in various districts.

“Though casteism isn’t that strong in TS like in UP, BJP plans to woo all castes and give tickets in respective constituencies based on the dominant caste,” said a senior BJP leader.