As Bengal heads to a high-stakes election next year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is streamlining and fast-tracking the internal rejig, with state-level appointments across the organisational structure gaining pace, according to a report by News 18.
The report also stated that party's strategic recalibration is driven by granular analysis of the 2024 Lok Sabha results, which revealed critical vote share gains across 143 assembly segments.
Potential overhaul in the selection strategy
When top BJP leadership met in early April, the message by Sunil Bansal, the BJP’s minder for the state was loud and clear. Bansal asked the district units to identify two or three individuals in every assembly constituency who have been associated with the BJP for the past few years, remained committed to the party through its highs and lows, and are unlikely to defect in the future. In no uncertain terms, Bansal drove home the point that loyalty and grassroots connect will matter more than notoriety or recent visibility.
How state BJP has engaged in microplanning post 2024 outcome
After the general election of 2024, the Bengal unit of the BJP began the micro-planning — mapping booth-level dynamics, religion and caste equations in rural areas, and ward-wise shifts in voting behaviour, in the case of the urban constituencies.
Over the next few weeks, the BJP is likely to announce a new state unit president for Bengal as well, with internal discussions narrowing it down to a shortlist. Sources also confirmed that the decision will come within the next few days, according to the same report.
Dramatic departure from BJP's 2021 playbook
If implemented, the decision will mark a dramatic departure from the BJP’s approach in the 2021 assembly election, when the party fielded a large number of turncoats—many of them recent defectors from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). While this strategy helped the BJP emerge as the principal opposition in the state, winning 77 of the 294 seats, it also sowed the seeds of instability. It led to the defeat of several candidates, while many of those who won under the BJP banner subsequently defected back to the TMC. As of now, the BJP’s effective strength in the assembly is down to 65 MLAs.
How recalibration involves dual-pronged strategy
The recalibration, according the report involves a dual-pronged strategy. First, the party will consolidate its existing vote base — the Hindu consolidations seen in border districts and tribal belts are being examined for deeper penetration, said the senior functionary calling it an “obvious" strategy.
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