BJP strategises for LS polls, focuses on ‘weak seats’ & alliance building

: With the general elections in India approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to announce its initial list of candidates in early March, focusing on 100-140 Lok Sabha seats identified as “weak” based on past performance, after the party will hold the Central Election Committee’s meeting here in the headquarters, sources said.

The party is actively organising ground-level campaigns to consolidate its vote bank, particularly targeting 160 weak constituencies.

Top BJP leaders, including Central ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are participating in meetings to build trust, emphasising the ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ slogan and highlighting Central government schemes, especially those benefiting women.

During a recent national council meeting, the party discussed strategies for the upcoming elections, which was attended by 11,000 party leaders, and election committees of each state. However, official statements on candidate declarations are yet to be made. During this session, BJP’s top leadership also discussed the party’s strategy to ensure the third grand mandate in 2024 and proposed resolutions. However, BJP headquarters made no official statements on the declaration of candidates.

Last year, the BJP identified over 70 weak Lok Sabha seats, especially in southern states, and urged leaders to conclude poll-centric campaigns like ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Gaon Chalo Abhiyaan’ by the end of February.

The BJP has further implemented a cluster system, dividing the country into North, South, and East zones, each containing 10-12 states. The North cluster encompasses all states in North India and Western states, while the East cluster includes Northeastern states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. State unit leaders have also been asked to ensure each Assembly segment has a functional election

office soon.

Both the Central and state leadership of the party are actively engaged in negotiating seat-sharing arrangements with ally parties. There is ongoing speculation about the candidacy of young leaders and women candidates in several key constituencies, and political experts anticipate the introduction of new faces in many Lok Sabha constituencies. The final decisions will be made after reviewing survey reports from individual states conducted by

the screening committee.

There is considerable buzz around the potential candidacy of the party’s national secretary, Anil K Antony, in Pathanamthitta, Chalakudy, and Ernakulam.

In Karnataka, JD(S) president HD Kumaraswamy has stated that there are no issues regarding his party’s alliance with the BJP and seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

In Andhra Pradesh, an alliance between N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and the BJP is possible in both the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are actively holding meetings to finalise the seat-sharing formula for the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. Reports detailing ongoing negotiations within the NDA alliance have emerged in recent months.

In north-east state Assam, the state BJP president, Bhabesh Kalita, announced that NDA partners, including BJP, AGP, and UPPL, will discuss seat allocations this month. The NDA aims to secure at least 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam during the upcoming elections.

In Bihar, sources indicate that the BJP plans to retain a minimum of 20 out of the total 40 Lok Sabha seats, offering the remaining seats to its NDA partners—JDU, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD), and Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular HAM-S.

In Uttar Pradesh, SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar has reportedly demanded 5 Lok Sabha seats. The SBSP contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP), winning six seats. However, the party later broke ties with the SP and joined the BJP-led NDA.

In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis clarified that the BJP intends to contest 26 out of 48 seats in the state. The seat-sharing formula for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be decided after discussions with allies. In the 2019 elections, the BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) contested 41 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, winning 23 and 18 seats, respectively.