It was nearing midnight when a union minister went into a huddle with some local leaders in a Delhi assembly segment, after a series of meetings with booth and constituency level in-charge, devoting time to the BJP's battle for Delhi like several other ministerial colleagues.
It was nearing midnight when a union minister went into a huddle with some local leaders in a Delhi assembly segment, after a series of meetings with booth and constituency level in-charge, devoting time to the BJP's battle for Delhi like several other ministerial colleagues.
As Delhi nears judgement day, the state leaders seem to have almost faded into the background. With just six days to go, the party has unleashed a multi-pronged strategy with prime minister Narendra Modi at the helm and union ministers, party leaders from various states and cadre on the campaign trail right from the booth level to parliamentary seat.
A party leader said "it was Modi then and it is Modi now" and that with projecting Kiran Bedi as the chief ministerial candidate, the BJP has left no ground for the Aam Admi Party to capitalise on the issue of it being a faceless battle.
Though BJP leaders claim that factionalism within the Delhi party was an old story now, there is no denying that the "outsiders" are in the forefront of the Delhi battle, overpowering any voices of dissent from within the local unit. The party had pursued a similar strategy in election-bound states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir of getting some leaders from outside the state to campaign, but they had not micromanaged the campaigns the way they are doing in the Capital.
In every state which is headed for election, BJP president Amit Shah has emphasised the need to put up a united face, in an apparent message to contain any factionalism. Party sources said getting people from outside the state was a way of monitoring the election campaign.
A party leader said that according to a study, 40 per cent voters changed their mind in the last five days and the entire party was on the streets reaching out to people. The panna pramukhs (in-charge of electoral roll pages) had also begun going from door to door to reach out directly with the voters.
While leaders claimed that the party had no reason to worry given its latest assessment of Delhi, the party was not leaving any stone unturned this time, as it faced the same foe—Arvind Kejriwal—and the same challenge of differences within state unit, as in the November 2013 election.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}