Delhi bjp eyes new members to increase vote share
BJP leaders believe that an increase of nearly 5% votes would make a big difference.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, eyeing to stage a comeback in Delhi after two decades, has planned to strengthen its vote share in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. The idea is to increase the vote share by at least 5-7% by bringing new voters to its fold.
In one such exercise, the Delhi BJP has set a target of enrolling at least 100 new voters in every polling booth, which amounts to nearly 1.5 lakh voters across 13,800 booths across the national capital. While the BJP bagged a whopping 56% votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, its vote share in the Assembly polls has constantly been around 33%. BJP leaders believe that an increase of nearly 5% votes would make a big difference.
In the 2013 Delhi elections, the BJP had won 31 seats with the vote share of 33.07%. However, in the 2015 elections, it was reduced to just three seats, but the vote share remained at 32.1%. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on the other hand, had secured 54% votes.
A senior BJP leader said the party has launched a campaign to reach out to the first-time voter or new voters by helping them get enrolled in the voters’ list. “At least 100 new voters will be enrolled in each of the polling stations in the national capital. There are 13,816 polling booths in Delhi and the party planned to enrol nearly 1.5 lakh new voters,” he said. For this drive, the BJP has appointed over 12,000 agents at different levels in booths, Assembly segments and coordinators in every district.
Recently, the BJP also concluded its mega membership drive where the Delhi unit claimed to have added over 18 lakh new members. Party leaders believe that the new members would increase its vote share by 3-4%.
In Delhi, the BJP faces the biggest challenge of countering the poll sops offered by the AAP government. The ruling party has already announced exemption of electricity bills up to 200 units, free metro and DTC bus rides to women, free water, among many other promises. BJP strategists believe that strengthening its voters’ base using conventional methods could be the most effective tool against the AAP government.
The state unit has also planned to launch a membership drive in Muslimdominated seats with the aim of bringing youths and women from the community to the BJP fold. The Muslim-dominated seats in Delhi include Chandni Chowk, Matial Mahal, Ballimaran, Seelampur, Mustafabad, Badarpur, Okhla and Trilokpuri. Except the Mustafabad seat, where BJP’S sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan broke the jinx in 2015 Assembly polls, the BJP has never won any election in the remaining seven seats. Similarly, the BJP’S record in reserved seats like Bawana, Deoli, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur Majra, Mangolpuri, Madipur and others have been below expectations. On the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday, Mother Dairy undertook an interesting way to increase awareness against the use of plastic. It erected a 25-foot effigy of Ravana on Wednesday made of plastic collected from households of Delhi-ncr. Instead of burning the effigy, it dismantled it and sent it for recycling. Mother Dairy managing director Sangram Chaudhary told The Sunday Guardian that this was done to spread the message about the irreparable damage that plastic caused to the environment. The drive was a follow up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call against the use of single use plastic. Delhi BJP chief and actor Manoj Tiwari was the star performer at the Nav Shri Manav Dharm Ramlila in Model Town on Wednesday. He appeared on stage after the Sita Swayamvar scene ended. Tiwari, MP from North East Delhi, played the role of Parashuram. Bollywood actor Shahbaz Khan played the role of Ravana. Dressed in a leopard skin vest, Tiwari clutched an axe during his 30-minute performance. He delivered dialogues “with modern political overtones”. Addressing Vishwamitra about the crowd gathered for Sita’s Swayamvar, Tiwari asked, “Ye sab kahan se aaye hain, ye koi videshi ghutpaithiye hain ya tumne bulaya hai (Where have they come from; are they illegal immigrants or have you called them)?”
In another scene with Lakshman, Tiwari referred angrily to “aatankvaadis (terrorists)”. “My axe has spilled rivers of blood, and in this land of the Aryans, several terrorists have been sent to the graveyard,” thundered Tiwari, who is also a good singer.
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