Buoyed by the success of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and Delhi Municipal Corporation election strategy, the State Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to go for a similar strategy in selection of candidates for the Assembly elections here.
BJP State general secretary C.T. Ravi told The Hindu that the party had designed a new strategy to select candidates in U.P. Assembly elections. This was done by gathering internal opinions —from party workers — and external opinions — from people of various walks of life.
In each Assembly constituency, nearly 2,000 to 2,500 people of different age groups, social and economic conditions were consulted.
Gauging public mood
This also helped gauge the public mood. Party leaders take the final call over selection of candidates based on these inputs, he explained.
In U.P. and Delhi, the party issued ticket to 167 candidates belonging to small and microscopic communities based on such inputs, and most of them won, he said.
Mr. Ravi added that the strategy had worked in U.P. where the party had been out of power for over a decade and it was repeated in the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. In Karnataka, where the party is attempting to return to power, the same strategy will be emulated with some changes to suit local conditions, he added.
Mr. Ravi did not rule out the possibility of some of the party leaders, including the sitting MLAs losing party ticket.
In U.P. there was the example of a seven-time MLA being denied ticket as the opinion went against that person. Mr. Ravi said BJP national president Amit Shah will tour the State for three days from August 12.