DNA Edit: Human Machinery - The BJP’s booth management is a meticulous affair

In spite of what opposition parties claim, there is no clear wave in the three poll-bound states favouring either the incumbent or the challenger. This makes the battle all the more intense and the mobilisation of party workers an absolute imperative.

Being a cadre-based party, the BJP has an upper hand over its political adversaries, especially the Congress whose rank and file lacks the discipline and commitment of the saffron party. With an army of RSS cadres at its disposal, the BJP has struck at the grass roots to sway public opinion in its favour.

For the electorate, voting for a candidate is not a premeditated exercise. On the contrary, many are swayed by last-minute considerations and a bit of prodding at the final stages of the campaign can have a decisive effect in determining the outcome of the polls.

Assembly elections are not fought on the basis of overarching, grand narratives of national-building or international issues. What gains precedence are matters that affect the everyday life of a voter. Hence, for a party, an intimate knowledge about the voter’s woes, and a more than casual acquaintance with his family members come in handy at the time of the polls.

The BJP, like the CPI-M of the yore, has mastered the art of door-to-door campaigning in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, it has seven lakh panna pramukhs drawn from RSS background and more than one lakh booth workers. Many of these RSS foot soldiers come from different states and seamlessly blend with the milieu to assist the local leadership.

The BJP has always excelled at creating an elaborate election machinery by working out the nitty gritty of the operation well in advance. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the booth committees and shakti kendras were formed more than a year ago. This sort of planning also helps in delegation of responsibilities.

Each panna pramukh, who is supposed to network, knows that he has to ensure the loyalty of 60 voters. With this sort of micromanagement, the BJP aspires to keep a close tab on 51,000 booths in Rajasthan where its position seems a bit vulnerable.

Interestingly, every election brings with it an opportunity for the humble party worker to earn his spurs. It keeps his hopes alive to rise through the ranks and take on more responsibility. Since the BJP doesn’t believe in dynastic politics, there is ample scope for people with no political antecedents to join the party and make a mark.

This whole network of human pyramid, so to speak, is personally supervised by party president Amit Shah. In the Sixties and Seventies, the CPI-M used to boast of such well-oiled human machinery, which was dedicated to the causes espoused by the Reds.

The BJP-RSS is the last of the Mohicans in this regard. No other party — at the national or regional level – can inspire such commitment from its humble supporters.