Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with party workers and leaders on January 22, the BJP on Monday held a meeting of its candidates along with the seven BJP Delhi MPs and senior party leaders including party Vice-President and Delhi BJP Election Incharge Baijyant Panda. The meeting was also held to oversee preparations and campaign pitch in Delhi in areas allotted to them ahead of the assembly elections.
With less than 15 days left for voting for the state assembly polls, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that it ends its 27 years of being away from power in the national Capital. In the meeting, party’s general secretary B L Santhosh was also present.
The candidates were briefed regarding the ‘Mera Booth Sabse Majboot’ programme of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, slated to be held on Wednesday, where he will interact with party workers in the meeting. Senior party leadership including Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar and Minister of State of Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey informed the candidates of the programme and asked to ensure maximum participation of booth level workers in the programme.
Sharing a message on social media platform X on Saturday, the Prime Minister said that the people of Delhi are looking to give a landslide victory for the BJP. During the meeting with party workers, views would be shared with some of them, who must also share their views during the interaction, PM Modi added.
"Delhi is determined to give a landslide victory to BJP in the Assembly elections. On January 22 at 1 p.m., there will be a great opportunity to interact with dedicated workers in the program 'Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot'. For this, you must share your views. I will talk to some of you," the PM wrote on X.
Except for BJP’s ally Janata Dal (United)’s candidate Shailendra Kumar, who is fighting from Burari seat, rest 69 were present including Chirag Pawan-led LJP (RV)’s candidate from the reserved seat Deoli. The BJP is fighting and has given one seat each to its ally LJP (RV) and JDU keeping in mind the upcoming Bihar elections.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also hold 15 election rallies and public programmes in the national capital, starting from January 23, while campaigning for the party. A party leader said, "UP CM Yogi Adityanath will play a crucial role in campaigning in Delhi for BJP. His presence as UP CM in Delhi will impact voters who belong to Uttar Pradesh. Yogi Adityanath will do 14 rallies and public programmes starting from January 23."
Besides Yogi, Modi is likely to address around three rallies and BJP national president J P Nadda will also address several public meetings in various constituencies.
"Shah will address four rallies and hold four roadshows. Nadda is also likely to address 10-12 rallies," said a Delhi BJP leader associated with the poll campaign. "The party has requested three rallies of the prime minister -- one in Yamuna Khadar in northeast Delhi, another in Karkardooma in east Delhi and third one near Dwarka in west Delhi. At least two of these rallies are certain to be approved by the party leadership," the Delhi BJP leader said.
The BJP has already declared its list of 40 star campaigners, including Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Hardeep Puri and Dharmendra Pradhan. Besides Adityanath, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami and Maharashtra's Devendra Fadnavis will be among the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, who will be holding rallies in the national capital.
"There is a lot of demand for campaigning by CM Adityanath. The party has planned for at least one public meeting of him in each of the 14 districts. Dhami is also in demand as there is a sizeable number of voters originally from Uttarakhand in various constituencies, especially in trans Yamuna areas," said the Delhi BJP leader.
Besides, many candidates have demanded meetings and rallies of famous Purvanchali leaders and party MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan. "These two have a huge following in Delhi, especially in areas dominated by Purvanchali voters. Tiwari, who is a Bhojpuri actor and singer, campaigns across the country because of his popularity among UP and Bihar migrants living in different states," said another party leader.
In the meeting, apart from the Prime Minister’s programme, they were asked to share the feedback they have been receiving.
Party leaders also asked if there is anything the party can provide to enhance their campaign as there is less than two weeks left for the polls. “These candidates have now been campaigning for about 15 days. They must have an idea of what the situation is on ground. The party asked for their feedback and also assured them of any help they need to win these elections. We have also asked them to ensure that there is maximum participation of booth level workers in their respective seats,” a party leader said.
The meeting, which was held at the state party office, also included District Presidents from all the assembly constituencies who also shared their feedback. Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri, New Delhi candidate Parvesh
Sahib Singh Verma, Bijwasan candidate Kailash Gahlot and Gandhi Nagar candidate Arvinder Singh Lovely were also present at the meeting.