IT cell of BJP in reboot mode for 'battle 2019'

It is publicising pro-people schemes of NDA govt

 They worked behind the scene during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and used their ‘digital knowledge’ to campaign for Narendra Modi as prime minister.

A year later, they have set themselves a new task. To keep the momentum going and prepare the grounds for “battle 2019”.

The moderate-size auditorium on the second floor of the State BJP office in Malles-waram was packed to the brim on Sunday morning. Around 300 members of the BJP Information Technology (IT) cell had gathered to briefly dwell on the past and set themselves a roadmap for the coming years.

“We achieved our objective (Modi as Prime Minister). Generally, human tendency is to slow down once an objective is achieved. But we have to keep the momentum going. There is still a lot to be done,” T S Mohan, founder, Pragyan Datalabs, one of the speakers at the event, said.

Mohan said during the 2014 polls, there was a negative mood in the country against the ruling UPA government and people wanted a change. However, the scene of the 2019 polls would be different and preparations for the battle had to commence now.

Another speaker, Samir Kagalkar, director MIT School of Governance, said the 2019 polls for the BJP would be a lot tougher than last year’s Lok Sabha elections. “People will seek answers on whether the promises made had been kept. We can make a beginning today by telling people about the programmes of the NDA government,” he said.

Kagalkar said he made it a point to create awareness on programmes like Jan Dhan and insurance cover schemes launched by the Centre.

“When I hire a auto, I ask the driver whether he has enrolled for the insurance cover scheme or opened a bank account,” he said.

BJP national joint general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh said Modi had succeeded in changing the perception of politics and politicians in the country. “Children now talk about becoming politicians when they grow up,” he said.

The BJP IT cell had been active on the social media during the 2014 polls and contributed in its own way in bringing the party to power by setting itself the ‘Mission 272+’ target.

Some tough questions to BJP

The interaction session at the meet had the members of IT cell raise some pointed questions. The questions ranged from the BJP’s alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir and the party’s silence when separatists made anti-India statements to the ‘Make in India’ campaign focusing on the corporate sector rather than agriculture. “Agriculture sector is yet to get a fillip, many even do not know who the union agriculture minister is,” a member said. Another member pointed out that the stock market soared when the NDA took the reigns of power last year, but the markets had not been able to maintain the momentum thereafter.