BJP, Cong leaders seek feedback from partymen

JAIPUR/BHOPAL: The leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, who have been tasked with finalising candidates for the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, are taking feedback from party workers to maintain “transparency and inclusivity” in the selection process but in different ways.

In Rajasthan, BJP leaders are camping in the Jain temple town of Ranakpur in Pali district, gathering responses from former workers, elected representatives and office-bearers on possible candidates, party leaders familiar with the matter said. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP leaders have been assigned districts, so that they can get names of prospective candidates from functionaries at different levels, state party leaders said.

The Congress, on the other hand, is making calls to 9 lakh workers registered under project Shakti in Rajasthan to get the name of candidates of their choice in their respective constituencies.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has conducted four surveys to gauge the popularity of aspirants among the electorate, party leaders said. “It is an attempt to keep the ground-level party worker happy,” said Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). “Such an exercise on a smaller scale used to happen earlier but now the parties are ensuring that the workers are not ignored.”

Both parties in these states appear to have realised the importance of workers.

The BJP central leadership had, in fact, started wooing its workers right after the three bypoll losses in Rajasthan’s Alwar, Ajmer and Mandalgarh in February this year and the four losses in Madhya Pradesh, including in Mungaoli and Kolaras. Calls were made to party workers in the state asking them the cause of anger as well as the performance of MLAS and MPS, party leaders said.

In the last one month, BJP president, Amit Shah, has urged party workers in both states to forget their grievances till the end of the elections.

The Congress has also recognised the power of grassroots workers. In recent speeches in the two states, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, repeatedly claimed that the doors of the party’s chief ministers and ministers will always be open for workers. Congress Rajasthan spokesperson, Archana Sharma, said involving workers brings transparency in the selection process and verification of a candidate’s credentials. BJP Rajasthan spokesperson, Mukesh Pareek, said taking feedback from workers helps in cross-checking names so that the best candidate is selected. Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson, Rajneesh Agrawal, said, “Surveys and feedback have always been a part of the party’s system as we believe in a democratic system unlike the Congress .”

THE BJP HAS URGED PARTY WORKERS IN MP, RAJASTHAN TO FORGET GRIEVANCES TILL THE END OF ELECTIONS. THE CONGRESS TOO HAS REALISED THE POWER OF GRASSROOTS