The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
BJP invites 25 foreign parties to witness LS polls, campaigning
LEADERS OF political parties from countries across the world are set to visit India during the Lok Sabha elections on the BJP'S invitation to witness the scale of the polls and understand the ruling party’s campaign strategies.
The BJP has so far sent invites to over 25 parties of foreign countries asking them to send their representatives to observe India's Lok Sabha polls, known as the world’s largest democratic exercise. Of them, 13 parties have so far confirmed their visits to India, BJP sources said. Details would be disclosed later.
Significantly, neither of the two US parties — the ruling Democrats and the Republicans — have been invited. A BJP leader explained, “For one, they are busy with their own Presidential elections. Also, the US parties are not structured like parties in India or in some parts of Europe. In the US, for instance, a party worker may not know the name of his party’s chairman, because the system makes only the office of the President or the US Congress prominent.”
The BJP has, however, invited the Conservative and Labour parties of the UK, and the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats of Germany. No political party from Pakistan or Communist Party of China (CPC) has been invited. From neighbouring Bangladesh, only the ruling Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League has been invited.
All prominent political parties of Nepal, including the Maoists, have been invited by the BJP. The same holds true for Sri Lanka.
The BJP is hoping that the leaders of invited political parties would visit India during the third or fourth phase of the elections scheduled for the second week of May.
The foreign observers will first be briefed in Delhi about the BJP, the political system and the electoral process of India. Then, the groups of 5-6 observers will be taken to 4-5 constituencies to meet party leaders, the BJP’S candidates, and also possibly attend the rallies of top BJP leaders such as prime minister na rend ra mo di, Union home minister am it shah or party chief JPN add a.
The party' s move comes in the wake of KNOW BJP, an initiative aimed at external outreach, undertaken under Nadda. Close to 70 heads of mission from various countries have met the BJP president as part of this initiative, even as the BJP delegations have also visited several countries. Nepal leader Prachanda was also invited to the BJP headquarters as part of this outreach. Even in the recent Assembly elections to five states, the party had taken 4-5 foreign delegates to various places to show them electioneering there.