BJP tweaks strategy as it looks to retain Raj, MP

In recent years, one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) defining electoral traits in states where it has returned to power is frugality in giving tickets to the same candidate from the same constituency. The most extreme example of this was the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections in 2017, where the party dropped all sitting councillors, and managed to win back all three — north, south and east — MCDS.

However, this time the party seems to have tweaked this strategy in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where it has been running governments since 2003. The share of candidates repeated from the same constituencies in these two states is considerably higher than it was in the 2008 and 2013 elections. This is in contrast with the trend in Gujarat, where a lower share of candidates were repeated in the 2017 elections compared to 2012. In Rajasthan, however the share of candidates repeated by the BJP has dropped by three percentage points. However, the BJP was in opposition before 2013 in the state.

See chart 1 for the share of repeated candidates by the BJP in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

The BJP’S numbers for repeat candidates in states where it has returned to power is perceptibly lower than those for other parties in their respective bastions. For example, in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal repeated 41% of its candidates in 2009 and 63% in 2014. In recent years, the Congress has not returned to power in a major state. But in Assam, where it won a third term in 2011, it repeated 51% of candidates; even in 2016, when it lost the state after 15 years, the Congress repeated 45% of its candidates.

The strategy of not repeating candidates has helped the BJP in its strongholds such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. This can be seen from the fact that the average position — winners would end up with position 1 — of new candidates has been lower than repeat candidates in the previous two elections. (Chart 2) However, in Rajasthan, BJP’S repeat candidates fared better than new faces in the 2013 elections.

These statistics suggest that the BJP has taken a risk in repeating a bigger share of candidates in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and lower share of candidates in Rajasthan. Will the change in strategy work or backfire?

We will know on 11 December. NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday ordered the removal of superintendent of police of Telangana’s Vikarabad district over the arrest of Congress’ A Revanth Reddy as the police observer found his detention “unwarranted”.

It is also directed that the officer T Annapurna’s services are not utilised for election purpose, the order also said.

In the early hours of Tuesday, the Vikarabad police had taken Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president Revanth Reddy into preventive custody, citing law and order issues. Reddy’s arrest came ahead of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s meeting at Kodangal. Reddy had declared a bandh in Kodangal and asked party workers to stage protests across the constituency against the visit of the chief minister.

Reddy was let off after Rao’s meeting in the assembly segment.

THE EC ALSO SAID THE COP COULD NOT BE PUT ON ELECTION DUTY