The BJP after suffering back to back defeats in by-polls at the hands of the united opposition in Uttar Pradesh is working hard to repeat the success of 2014 General elections where it surprised everyone by winning 73 seats in the state. The BJP chief of UP, Mahendranath Pandey has given two tactical insights about how they are going into election arena in 2019. According to News 18, he said, “When the time comes for ticket distribution and seat sharing in SP and BSP, then a huge chunk of their party leaders are going to get angry. We will try to tap on the dissent of these leaders.” He further added, “It is not like we will not have angry leaders when ticket distribution is finalized, but our workers are more disciplined and dedicated than theirs. Even in the past when SP and BSP had a pact in 1993, then too, BJP bagged 176 seats while both the parties combined got 172 seats.”
His tactic sounds logical since the SP-BSP are coalition partners so it means only one politician from either the SP or the BSP will get a ticket in every constituency, the number of rejects will automatically double. The BJP is already eyeing to tap into these dissidents, especially the popular crowd pulling ones who can successfully swing large chunk of votes into the BJP’s favour and help it repeat 2014 like performance. In the past, defectors who joined the BJP proved to be very beneficial for the BJP. Hemant Biswa Sarma who deserted Congress and joined BJP, single-handedly brought the entire North-East into the BJP’s pockets. Accepting the leaders from other parties has turned out to be a boon for the BJP.
Swami Prasad Maurya who joined the BJP before UP assembly elections also brought a large chunk of votes with him and played a pivotal role in the BJP’s victory. By accepting leaders of the other party, BJP weakened its opponents. In 2014 the success rate among the turncoats who joined the the party was very high. The party is not worried about losing its members because it is a very much a disciplined party. Many of its members come from the RSS background for whom the loyalty towards ideology is paramount.
Mahendranath Pandey also spoke about his second strategy. He talked about fielding the candidates of the Bhim Army against the BSP. According to him, “We are reviewing each and everything and also on how to tackle with Bhim Army. The Bhim Army also stands against BSP, which can be a boon for us in the Western Uttar Pradesh. Also, we are emphasizing on increased representation of Dalits and backwards in our organization, which is going to reap good results in 2019.” If Bhim army supports the BJP then the it will sweep the entire western Uttar Pradesh, where the Bhim Army has its influence, smoothly. The Dalits have voted for the party since 2014 despite the opposition and media’s repeated attempt to isolate the Dalits from the BJP. Bhim Army supporting the BJP would complete the political annihilation of the Mayawati.
It’s just the beginning and a tip of the iceberg of BJP’s political strategy ahead of 2019 General elections. Although, BJP should keep in mind that not every turn coat is going to be beneficial for the party and it should also keep in mind to not let the new entrants to the party undermine the old guard.