“Kamal Sakhis” or women supporters of the BJP have been identified as key players in scoring a hat-trick of victories for the party in parliamentary elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah push workers on the ground to increase enrolment of women voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha contest.
With the aim of notching up a 51% vote share in the parliamentary elections – as against 38% in 2019 (while NDA’s share was 45%) – and bagging seats in excess of 330 – as compared to 303 in 2019, the party has given targets to the Mahila Morcha to enrol new party workers and work closely with prabharis and convenors in each Lok Sabha constituency. “About 20 meetings of the women wing, along with other party morchas, are likely to be organised in each of the parliamentary constituencies before the election,” said a party leader.
Interestingly, social media influencers are also planned to be roped in to maintain a connection with women voters, especially the young and the tech-savvy.
NGOs and self-help groups that have availed centrally-sponsored schemes for women and children are going to be taken along in the BJP’s drive to add more strength to the base of the supporters’ pyramid, said a party worker.
Apart from reaching out to women voters, the party cadre in states is being encouraged to enrol new members in villages and contact beneficiaries of centrally-funded welfare schemes, including free ration, tapped water supply, free shelter and subsidised cooking gas.
The Yuva Morcha and Minority Morcha have also been directed to contact rural voters and organise joint meetings this month, said a party leader.
The BJP wants to ensure that there is full saturation of Centre government-funded schemes in villages and for this purpose the party is taking out the “Viksit Bharat Yatra” during which those left out of the social security net will be encouraged to enrol for the on-going schemes and those already availing the schemes would be asked to give their feedback.
According to BJP insiders, the feedback of people is being used to judge the performance of each MP. While the exercise is still inconclusive, the BJP is very close to coming to the conclusion of a flop show by nearly 125 MPs, who may even face the axe at the time of ticket distribution.
Also a number of ministers in the Modi Cabinet who have served in the Rajya Sabha may be asked to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had denied tickets to 99 sitting MPs and went on to win 303 seats, up from the 269 seats that it had its MPs on when the polls were held. In 2014 it had won 282 seats, but the tally was reduced to 269 in wake of the deaths of sitting MPs and losses in subsequent by-elections.