Eye on polls, BJP to carry out Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Madhya Pradesh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to step up its people outreach efforts in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh by organising 'Jan Ashirwad Yatras' to reconnect with party workers and inform citizens about the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said party functionaries.

Madhya Pradesh, along with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram, will hold crucial assembly elections later this year in what has been dubbed the 'semi-final' before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is leading the BJP's poll campaign in MP, recently directed state leaders to organise rath yatras, to be called Jan Ashirwad Yatra, region-wise, to touch base with booth-level workers and hear their grievances in order to defeat anti-incumbency, said functionaries.

 

In the last month, Shah has held four meetings with CM Chouhan, state party chief VD Sharma, Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar, among others, to discuss the road map for the assembly elections later this year and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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"The rath yatras for Jan Ashiward will be carried out from five locations in the state and will be attended by all key leaders, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, VD Sharma, Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar, and Prahlad Patel, and party general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya," a senior BJP leader was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

According to a second BJP leader, senior national leaders, including PM Modi, will also participate in later rounds of the yatras. "Not only the CM but all senior state leaders have been asked to satisfy the grievances of booth-level workers to boost their morale," the leader added.

BJP's unified campaign ahead of MP polls

Amit Shah's recent visits came amid reports of a schism among senior leaders and an internal feud among ministers in the state government.

Earlier, Amit Shah directed the state unit to design a unified campaign, said another functionary.

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"The internal conflicts have been resolved to a large extent. There is a visible improvement, and the campaign in the name of PM Modi has already begun," said a third BJP leader, adding, "There is a lot of positivity right now."

Mending broken bonds

Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh since 2005. He was ousted from power for 15 months after the BJP lost the 2018 Assembly elections, only to be re-elected in 2020 when more than a dozen Congress members, led by civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, joined the party.

As part of the party's outreach exercise, Chouhan met the state's former finance minister Raghavji (89) during his visit to Vidisha on Monday.

Raghavji, a senior Jain politician with significant influence in Vidisha district, was expelled from the BJP in 2013 after a case involving a sex scandal was filed against him, despite his claims that it was a political conspiracy against him. The Madhya Pradesh High Court acquitted him last month.

Raghavji stated that Chouhan discussed a variety of personal and political matters with him. "The CM also invited me to Bhopal to discuss the political feedback and suggestions," he added.

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Earlier, the BJP appointed former finance minister Jayant Mallaiya, whose son launched his own party for local body elections, as head of the party's manifesto committee.

BJP state president VD Sharma refused to comment on what transpired in discussions with Shah but seemed certain of winning the 2023 assembly elections by a record margin. "We are getting guidance from Union Home Minister Amit Shahji, and we will win with record votes in both the assembly and the Lok Sabha election," he said.

Reacting to the development, senior Congress politician and party campaign committee head Kantilal Bhuria stated, "BJP is fighting internally, and their leaders have no time to end common people's grievances. National leaders are now visiting Bhopal to resolve the matter."

On the other hand, political expert Girija Shankar stated that the Union Minister's involvement in quelling internal fighting will benefit the BJP electorally. "For the first time in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is holding more closed-door meetings than open meetings. Amit Shah is trying to balance the party and settle internal feuds. The success of such a balance will undoubtedly aid the party's election victory," Shankar said.