After Madhya Pradesh, BJP to field Union Ministers, MPs in Rajasthan, Telangana Assembly polls too

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is understood to be contemplating replicating the Madhya Pradesh experiment of fielding Central Ministers and sitting Members of Parliament in the forthcoming Rajasthan and Telangana Assembly polls too.

Sources stated that at least 10-15 senior leaders, with experience at the central level, will be fielded by the saffron outfit in the soon-to-be-announced state polls. It is learnt that several Union Ministers and MPs hailing from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, have also been asked to prepare for contesting the forthcoming Assembly polls.

The thought behind the fielding of senior leaders seems to be that they are well-versed with the operational style of the Central leadership of the BJP and provide relief from the anti-incumbency of local party legislators.

The BJP feels that these senior leaders would also provide a much-needed boost to campaigning and electioneering in the respective regions they have been fielded.

Senior leadership feels that these ministers in the Union Council of Ministers and lawmakers will bolster the chances of the BJP in securing additional seats.

The BJP has fielded three Central ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and MoS Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste for the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Four MPs including Ganesh Singh, Rakesh Singh, Riti Pathak and Uday Pratap Singh have been given the ticket along with national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

The party feels that the stature of these senior leaders would be able to push them through to victory in the Assembly polls.  Apart from creating a buzz on their respective seats, these leaders are also expected to fuel the local unit in the nearby constituencies of these regions. Hence, the a need for such candidates in other Assembly elections too.

What forced BJP to deploy this strategy

The saffron unit feels that by fielding senior ministers and lawmakers they will be able to provide an impetus to the party and its cadre in the forthcoming polls.

The need to introduce a new strategy was felt as various polls and internal surveys of the BJP have revealed a less-than-rosy picture for the saffron unit.

Various internal surveys, conducted by the BJP, have shown that the Congress has an edge in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and Bharat Rashtra Samithi has a clear edge in Telangana.

BJP’s only hope of securing a victory was in Rajasthan. However, with senior leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje seemingly refusing to tow the party line and Congress resolving its internal feud between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot even winning this state seems to be a tough ask for the BJP.

Despite a gloomy picture being painted by several of these surveys, the saffron unit feels that these Ministers and MPs would be able to give its opponents a tough time. The BJP is not known to give a walkover to its opponents in any polls. And these polls are no different.

The Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are being treated by the saffron front and Congress as a semifinal for the next general elections in the country. Political parties are trying hard to score a victory in these states as it is expected to set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.