BJP's poll preparation for Himachal enters full swing; J P Nadda visits twice

The party has shifted focus from the booth-level campaign mechanism to one where beneficiaries of BJP government schemes will be in focus

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s preparations for Himachal Pradesh has begun in full swing, with president J P Nadda visiting the election-going state for a second time in the last two weeks.

In his second tour, Nadda addressed a rally in Nagrota Bagwan situated in the state’s Kangra region, considered crucial for the party facing a new challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party which has set its sights in the hill state after bagging a win in neighbouring Punjab.

At the heart of the BJP’s campaign, leaders said, is the beneficiary model. Sources said that the party has shifted focus from the booth-level campaign mechanism to one where beneficiaries of BJP government schemes, known as labhbhartis, will be in focus. In this new system, a worker is given the responsibility of nurturing a group of beneficiaries of government schemes.

“Some workers have been deputed as a ‘sarthi’ and their job is to ensure knowledge of government schemes to ‘labh bhartis’ (beneficiaries). Each sarthi is responsible for 100 labhbhartis,” a leader from the party’s state unit said.

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During Nadda’s rally on Friday, he highlighted the BJP’s schemes, he mentioned the Atal Tunnel and the setting up of an AIIMS in Himachal. He also said that under the Smart City Plan, Rs 500 was set aside for Himachal Pradesh.

“Rs 250 crore from that is usually given by the Centre, but we decided that we will make a special provision for Himachal Pradesh, and Rs 450 crore will be set aside by the Centre. Only Rs 50 crore will be spent by the state government,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.

Workers said that Nadda has informed them during his meetings that the state has as many as 10 lakh labhbhartis.

BJP leaders in the party’s state unit said that workers have also been asked to prepare for a rally by PM Modi to be held between June 25 and 30. In addition, meetings of booth presidents across four regions of the state will be held with the attendance of senior party leaders soon.

It is likely that the BJP is heading to the Assembly polls with sitting CM Jai Ram Thakur as the CM despite speculations that Thakur will be changed. Leaders DH spoke to said that he is a certain amount of disgruntlement among a section of workers.

“There is political mismanagement, and local leaders cannot speak freely in the pradesh karya samiti (state executive). People were angry that the faces of senior leaders like Shanta Kumar and P K Dhumal were missing from posters in events of the party,” the leader said.

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