Over 1.3 lakh WhatsApp groups for keeping a real-time watch on the ground, 20-second clips highlighting its “commitment” to the people, and a campaign blitz led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself — these are some of the BJP’s key plans to take on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.
According to BJP insiders, these measures are aimed at tapping into perceived “resentment” among sections of government employees and middle-class voters towards the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
“Vetted by West Bengal in-charge and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, who has travelled to the state several times since last September, grassroots feedback over the last six months has helped us zero in on these issues,” a BJP source said.
Another source said that while these WhatsApp groups created by the party would help it monitor ground-level developments, they would also raise issues for public debate through them. “For instance, these groups help us gauge discontent among voters over the non-implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, lack of recruitment in government jobs and lawlessness in the state,” the source added.
The BJP is also looking to highlight its role in ensuring the rehabilitation of political victims “across political and ideological lines over several generations” — an issue traditionally raised by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), an RSS affiliate.
“The Sangh’s generational rehabilitation of those who have lost their kin to political violence in the state — through admissions for their children, providing employment, and offering means of sustenance to their family members — is likely to add more teeth to the BJP’s campaign, which will gather momentum later this week,” an insider said.
‘Campaign with a difference’
“Our campaign for Bengal is markedly different. Yes, infiltration by Bangladeshis and the Hindu-Muslim divide are key electoral issues, but they are not the only ones forming the core of the BJP’s messaging. The 15-year anti-incumbency, denial of rights to government employees, and the Seventh Pay Commission are significant issues among lakhs of government employees and their families,” a BJP leader said.
To virtually bring senior party leaders from Delhi into voters’ homes, the BJP has created 20–30 second video clips carrying their messages. “Apart from this, dozens of mini advertisements centred around the BJP-led central government’s commitment to improving the lives of state employees and middle-class people are already circulating across lakhs of social media accounts every day,” another party leader said.
The BJP’s focus on these issues was evident during the launch of the “Poribortan Yatra” earlier this month, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to implement the Seventh Pay Commission in the state within 45 days of coming to power, fill vacancies in government jobs, and improve law and order, while also coming down heavily on “infiltration”.
BJP sources said its targeted outreach on these issues could impact “between 20 lakh and 50 lakh voters”. After the second and final phase of the Election Commission (EC)’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Bengal now has about 7.04 crore voters, that include over 60 lakh electors marked as “under adjudication”.
The employee issue gained renewed traction after the Supreme Court last month directed the Bengal government to disburse outstanding dearness allowance (DA) to around 20 lakh employees. BJP sources said Modi may raise this among other issues at a rally in Bengal on March 14.
Delhi model
The BJP also seems to have drawn inspiration from the success of its campaign based on the “Centre-driven development” in last year’s Delhi Assembly elections, which saw the party return to power in the capital after 27 years.
“We have already seen the potential of a similar pitch, led by PM Modi himself, in Delhi, where pro-development initiatives aimed at middle class were coupled with announcements related to the welfare of government employees as part of the campaign,” a party insider said.