Madhya Pradesh’s ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is working hard to retain power as the state gears up for Assembly elections just five months away. The party has been ruling the state for almost two decades and is facing high anti-incumbency along with internal friction. To boost their organizational strength, the party has come up with a multi-pronged action plan to connect with voters, especially youth. The state leadership has made changes to the party structure in recent years, giving younger generations more responsibility, especially at the ‘booth’ and ‘mandalam’ level. Khajuraho MP and Madhya Pradesh BJP president V.D. Sharma claims that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the confidence of the BJP’s cadre is very high and they are determined to win the assembly elections.
Speaking to IANS, Sharma said his party has adopted the Gujarat model of ‘Panna Pramukhs’ and has gone a step further to expand this model with ‘Ardh Pramukhs’. He explained that in Madhya Pradesh, more than 64,000 booth-level workers were enrolled during three rounds of booth vistarak campaign across 230 assembly seats. The concept of booth sashaktikaran and booth vijay sankalp have been implemented to further strengthen the party. According to Sharma, a total of 64,100 booth sashaktikaran kendras and 10,059 shakti kendras have been established across Madhya Pradesh. At least 10-12 persons will reportedly be working in one booth shaktikendra.
BJP has also decided to provide identity cards to the workers, called ‘sampada samman,’ to boost morale and encourage them to fulfill their tasks. The party’s booth, panna, and ardh-pramukh workers will play a critical role in the upcoming elections, sharing details of development work and beneficiary schemes of the central and state governments with people.
When asked about several BJP leaders, including former ministers and MLAs who have joined the Congress, Sharma dismissed the talk of dissent and explained that the BJP is a cadre-based party where nobody can put pressure for their own benefit. He added that those who have moved to Congress have already lost ground, paving the way for new leaders who are working tirelessly for the party.
The BJP is a cadre-based party, backed by right-wing organizations from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the Bajrang Dal. The state leadership is confident that they can win the upcoming election, thanks to their renewed focus on organizational strength and their young cadres who they believe will make a real difference. The BJP is planning to connect with voters across Madhya Pradesh and retain power when citizens go to the polls in just a few months’ time.
