Tag: JP Nadda

BJP Intensifies Telangana Plan Of Holding Rallies In 119 Assembly Constituencies

BJP Intensifies Telangana Plan Of Holding Rallies In 119 Assembly Constituencies

By LokMarg

Ahead of the Telangana Assembly polls which are scheduled to take place later this year, Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda, Union Home minister Amit Shah held a crucial meeting to deliberate on poll preparedness and it has been decided to intensify party campaign as central leadership will hold meetings in all 119 assembly constituencies starting next month.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s central leadership including party president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others will hold public meetings.
Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay on Tuesday urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to hold a meeting with freedom fighters, doctors and engineers who influence society on March 12 during his visit to the state.

According to Sanjay, around 3000 important people from various fields will gather at Shah’s meeting.

Sanjay urged Shah during a meeting chaired by BJP national president JP Nadda with Telangana leaders to chalk out a strategy for poll preparedness. The Union Home Minister was also present at the meeting.

Nadda and Shah presided over the meeting and reviewed the organisational activities in Telangana.

“We approach Amit shah to hold a meeting with freedom fighters, doctors and engineers who influence society in Telangana on March 12 as he is coming for an official meeting in Telangana,” said the Telangana BJP chief.

The meeting which was held at Nadda’s residence in the national capital lasted for around 4 hours.

The Telangana BJP chief briefed both the tall leaders on the successful completion of 11,000 Street Corner Meetings under the program named “Praja Gosa BJP Barosa” covering all 119 Assembly Constituencies.

The Party High-command was immensely pleased with the outcome and cohesiveness of the teamwork of the State Unit and shared its mind and thoughts with State leadership and directed them to undertake steps to strengthen the organization further. They have advised the State leadership to intensify the struggle against the KCR- led Telangana Government which is in the middle of corruption.

Sanjay said that the party will soon start public meetings in all 119 assembly constituencies.

“As Praja Gosha BJP Bharosa completed 11000 public meetings today, the BJP will soon start 1-1 public meetings on all 119 assembly constituencies. After that big meetings will take place in ten districts and senior central leadership like JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and others will hold them. After that big massive public meeting will be organised where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the public of Telangana,” he said.

Sanjay further said that said he will definitely raise all corruption issues of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his family.

Addressing the media in Delhi, he said, “The Mood of the Telangana people tilted towards BJP as it is the only political party in Telangana responding in no time to the needs and issues of people so collectively and it is quietly established fact that BJP has emerged as an alternate to the BRS with firm and committed support of people as BRS is evidently involved in every scandal and corruption leading to looting of the state resources.”

He said that the economy of Telangana is on the verge of collapse due to wrong policies pursued by BRS and the vibrant syndicate of corrupt deals in every activity.

“It is an officially known fact that State has to pay Rs 3000 crore monthly interest on Rs 5.5 lakh crore external debt without any evidence of physical assets being developed. Hence, people in Telangana understood the gravitas of impending economic crisis is openly in support of BJP,” he added.

He said that BJP will contest on its own in all 119 assembly constituencies and it is a clear signal from the ground that BJP will bound to come to power in the 2023 Assembly Elections with the blessings of people.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) realizing the emerging popular trend in favour of the BJP became jittery and panicky. Kavitha daughter of CM KCR is already charge sheeted in Delhi Liquor Scam hitting the image of BRS and KCR in particular,” said Sanjay.

He also said that BJP in Telangana state exposed the cosy nexus between BRS and Congress.

“We have successfully rebutted the campaign that BJP doesn’t have candidates in all constituencies- which was a ploy of both BRS and Congress,” he said.

While answering a question, he made it clear that BJP has no role in fixing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana Cheif Minister KCR’s daughter, K Kavitha and other AAP leaders as there is substantial evidence against them which will stand before the scrutiny of law.

“KCR failed to come up with reasonable argument and denial of his own daughter Kavitha in the infamous liquor case and whereas, he issued a public statement against the arrest of Manish Sisodia-is certainly ridiculous as he is still answerable to the People of Telangana. He reiterated that no such discussion took place in this regard with High command,” he added.

Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh said that today’s meeting was fruitful.

“As today we completed our Praja Gosha BJP Bharosa 11,000 meeting, the high command appreciated our effort and also discussed the party’s further plan and strategy for upcoming polls,” he said.

P Sudhakar Reddy, Tamil Nadu CO- incharge, NEC member said that the agenda which take place at today’s meeting was the plan and strategy for upcoming polls.

“Public meetings, rallies and the booth strengthening programmes were discussed. At the meeting we also discussed how to bloom lotus in every Telangana house and also how to defeat the hitlershahi of KCR,” Reddy added.

BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay, BJP national Organization General Secretary BL Santhosh, National vice president of BJP DK Aruna, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharampuri, Sudhakar Reddy-TN Co-incharge, K Laxman, G Kishan Reddy, Vijay Santhi, Vivek Venkatswamy, NEC member Etala Rajendran, G Mohan Rao and Muralidhar Rao and others were present at the meeting.

As per the sources, the first round of the meeting was held with Nadda, Shah and Sanjay for around 2 hours and after that, the second round of meetings was held with all the state leaders.

“The agenda which was discussed at today’s meeting was the plan and strategy of upcoming polls like big and small public meetings and rallies and the booth strengthening programme were discussed,” said the source.

At the meeting, the tall leaders also reviewed earlier important programme feedback like “Praja Gosa BJP Bharosa” and “Praja sangrama yatra”.

The party is running several programmes to connect with the people and increase its reach to the grassroots such as “Praja Gosha BJP Bharosa” and “Praja Sangram yatra” and through these campaigns, the party is getting massive positive responses from the public and as per the source, the party will discuss how to strengthen the party on booth level.

BJP has successfully undertaken 11000 public meeting outreach programmes in the state under Bandi Sanjay.

According to the sources, a state presidential election will be held soon as the BJP president Sanjay Bandi’s term is going to end in the first week of March, but another source from the party speculated that his term as the party President would be extended.

Earlier in the national executive meeting, Sanjay was the centre of attraction as Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the “Praja Sangram Yatra” and asked all the states to learn from his journey and appreciated his struggle and hard work. (ANI)

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NADDA ON NDA MEET

Nadda Calls Meeting Of BJP Leaders On Feb 26

By LokMarg

Aiming to discuss the upcoming Assembly elections, 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as well as the G20 preparations, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda has called a meeting of all the BJP leaders on February 26.

According to party sources, in the meeting of general secretaries, there will be a presentation about the position of the BJP in Tripura where elections have been held. Apart from this, the scope of BJP in Nagaland and Meghalaya will also be discussed, where voting is slated to be held on February 27. G20 is another important issue, that will be discussed in the meeting.
Notably, India is presiding over the G-20 in 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the party to ensure the maximum participation of common people in the G20 program. Under this, BJP is going to organise many programs regarding G-20.

BJP is going to organize various cultural programs including literary programs, webinars, seminars, etc. The party is trying to increase the participation of more and more people in this event and to promote the display of India’s art and culture.

In the meeting with the general secretaries, the party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, upcoming elections in six states in 2023 will also be reviewed.

Other than that, the steps have taken by the party to strengthen BJP’s weak 160 seats will also be discussed in detail, the party sources said. (ANI)

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Modi Inaugurates Meeting At BJP HQ

Modi Inaugurates Two-Day Meeting At BJP HQ

By LokMarg

Prime Minister Narender Modi on Monday inaugurated a two-day high-level meeting with officer bearers at BJP headquarters in the national capital.

The meeting is underway at BJP headquarters. PM Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda, the party’s State presidents, and general secretaries are among those present at the meeting.
Nadda will preside over the two-day meeting of the office bearers.

National General secretaries Dushyant Gautam, Bhupender Yadav, Baijant Panda, Tarun Chugh, and CT Ravi are participating in the meeting. Along with them, UP BJP president BJP president Bhupender Chaudhary, Uttrakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, and other BJP state presidents are present at the meeting.

It is being told that in this meeting, the upcoming strategies of the party will be discussed.

According to the sources, the review of preparations in the states where assembly elections are going to be held next year, and various organizational activities from booth committees will also be discussed.

“In the meeting, a future strategy will be prepared by reviewing the preparations so far, the recent elections, the stay done by the leaders in different states, and the functioning of the state organizations so far, as well as various organizational activities, will be discussed,” the sources said.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister arrived in the national capital after casting his vote in the Assembly elections of Gujarat and was welcomed by the party president.

A senior BJP leader said earlier, “in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections, in the two-day meeting, information about the government’s achievements and strengthening the organization will be shared. The functioning of the organization will also be reviewed in the meeting.”

Considering India’s G-20 presidency a major achievement, the party will also outline programmes linked with it to apprise the people about the country’s growing global influence under the leadership of PM Modi, he said further. (ANI)

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Nadda Calls For Mega BJP Meet On Dec 5 And 6

By LokMarg

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda on Saturday announced a crucial meeting on December 5 and 6 in the national capital to be attended by all key office bearers of the party from across states to decide the road to the 2024 general elections.

Those in the know of the matter have said that Nadda will preside over this two-day meeting, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to address the concluding session virtually on Tuesday.
With the last day of campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly elections coming to a close on Saturday and that for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls over on Friday, the meeting will focus on future strategies and will see the attendance of all the national office bearers.

According to the party sources, the meeting has been called to discuss the strategy and preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2023 assembly elections in several states.

Besides, the national office bearers of the party, in-charge, and co-in-charge of all the states, state presidents, and organization general secretaries of all states have also been called for the meeting.

A senior BJP leader said “in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections, in the two-day meeting, information about the government’s achievements and strengthening the organization will be shared. The functioning of the organization will also be reviewed in the meeting.”

Considering India’s G-20 presidency a major achievement, the party will also outline programmes linked with it to apprise the people about the country’s growing global influence under the leadership of PM Modi, he said further. (ANI)

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Haldwani Railway Land

SC Refuses To Entertain Plea Seeking Stay On MCD Elections

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking to stay the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, scheduled to be held on December 4.

A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka said that the petition has become infructuous as it noted the election is in 3 days, i.e., on Sunday.
The petition has challenged the Delhi High Court’s November 9 decision for not staying

the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, scheduled to be held on December 4.

The plea was filed by the National Youth Parth pertaining to the delimitation of the constituency of the civic polls.

Notably, the leaders of political parties will make last ditch effort as campaigning for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections is set to end today.

With a massive number of roadshows, the BJP campaigning was undertaken by several Union ministers and state Chief Ministers including national president JP Nadda for a massive show of strength.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President JP Nadda exuded confidence and said that people are eager to vote for BJP as they are fed up with Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) work. He also hit out at the AAP for not cleaning the Yamuna despite thousands of crores disbursed from the Centre to the Kejriwal government.

The BJP has been in power in the MCD since 2007.

On Friday, Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia will hold a roadshow in Patparganj.

While trying to revive its prospects in MCD polls, the Congress, in its election manifesto has promised RO water purifying systems for drinking water, clearing the three landfills in Delhi in 18 months and waiver of outstanding house tax due.

Making ‘Delhi will be Sheila ji’s Delhi’ as party’s poll pitch, Congress makes a mention of two schemes named after former Chief Minister Sheila Dixit – Sheila Dixit Swasthya Sahayatha Yojana for medicines at half the price, and the Sheila Dixit Gharelu Majdoor Kalyan Yojana for financial assistance for domestic workers. Assistance for domestic workers includes admissions for their children to MCD schools and financial help in case of accidents. (ANI)

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JP Nadda about Gehlot

Gehlot Cares Less For His People, More For His Party Leaders: JP Nadda

By LokMarg

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President JP Nadda on Thursday said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot cares less for the people of the state but more for his party and its leaders.

Nadda’s stinging attack on Gehlot came ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly polls which are due in December next year.
Nadda inaugurated the ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ in Rajasthan’s Jaipur in poll-bound Rajasthan and addressed the public of Rajasthan.

While addressing the public during the Jan Aakrosh Yatra, Nadda said,” Our ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ will cover 200 assembly seats and will have Jan Sampark Abhiyan with nearly two crore people. Gehlot-led Rajasthan government has only changed the names of schemes. Chief Minister Gehlot cares less for the state’s people but more for his party and its leaders.”

Exuding confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nadda said that the Gujarat assembly election, 2022 is going in the favour of the BJP.

“There is immense love for PM Modi in the state. CM Bhupendra Patel has done the work of development in Gujarat. We have seen positive results in today’s polling,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive roadshow in Ahmedabad in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections.

People flocked on both sides of the streets through which the Prime Minister’s convoy was passing. People showered flowers on his convoy. The crowd carrying his posters were chanting “Modi…Modi..” The Prime Minister was also seen greeting people and waving his hands.

After a gap of two days, Prime Minister Modi once again returned to the Gujarat election campaign trail. His three-hour mega roadshow spans 16 assembly constituencies for the second phase of the Assembly election.

The second phase of the Gujarat election would be held on December 5.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections will also be declared on the same day.

The Rajasthan assembly election will choose the representatives of all the 200 seats in the state’s Legislative Assembly. (ANI)

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BJP Mamata Nadda

Came Out Not To Unite India, But Break It: Nadda To RaGa

By LokMarg

Lashing out at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks against VD Savarkar, BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday said that the Congress leader is out on the road doing Bharat Jodo Yatra to “not to unite India, but to break it”.

“Just yesterday, Rahul Gandhi gave a condemnable statement against freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. This shows what their thinking is, they have not come out to unite India, they have come out to break it,” Nadda said while addressing an election rally in Gujarat’s Surat.
He further accused Gandhi of standing with those who protested against the hanging of Afzal Guru, who was the mastermind of the Parliament attack, on the Jawaharlal Nehru University premises in 2016.

“Development is associated with us. Congress always works to break the country. Rahul Gandhi even went to Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and stood with those who protested against the hanging of Afzal Guru, mastermind of the Parliament attack,” he alleged.

Nadda alleged that all the parties in the country did vote bank politics and worked to divide the people of the country into castes and religions, while only the BJP worked on the mantra of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas”.

Further slamming Congress over their stand on the Jan Dhan Account, Nadda said that the party made fun of the move by the Centre, but today nearly 47 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened.

“Congress was making fun of us when BJP was opening “Jan Dhan Account”. But today 47 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. After the account was opened, Modi ji made direct transfers of 500-500 hundred rupees for 3 months to the accounts of 20 crore women during Corona,” he said.

Comparing the developmental work done by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and PM Modi in the medical sector, the BJP chief said that the former had opened only 1 AIIMS while the latter has opened 15 AIIMS in the country.

“In 1960, Jawaharlal Nehru made only 1 AIIMS in the country. Atal ji made 6 AIIMS and today Modi ji made 15 AIIMS. 200 new medical colleges have opened. New dimensions of development are being written,” he said.

The Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held on December 1 and 5, and the counting of votes will take place on December 8. (ANI)

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Nadda Holds Series Of Meetings, Meets State In-Charges

By LokMarg

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda on Tuesday held a meeting with the party’s newly appointed state in-charges and discussed ways to strengthen the organisation and prepare for 2024 general elections.
During the meeting, Nadda asked the in-charges to stay connected with the workers on ground and tell people about Narendra Modi-led government’s work done across the last 8 years, sources said.

“We were told that we need to keep visiting the state and keep highlighting the issues that concern particular state so that immediate feedback and cognizance can be taken,” a source told ANI.

This was Nadda’s first meeting with the party’s newly appointed state in-charges. The message by saffron party leadership was very clear for the newly appointed in-charges about making sure that the party strengthens its organisational base from right the booth level onwards.

Another source told, “We were told that we need to keep visiting the state and stay connected. This will keep the party cadre morale high.”

The party top leadership has asked the state in-charges to make frequent visits to the states assigned to them and that each one must maintain complete accountability.

“BJP is not a shortsighted party but a party with distinct vision and in for a long haul and therefore continuity in work in the organisation will hold the key,” a source told ANI about the message from the top brass.

Another meeting is also expected to take place with all the state in charges soon.

On 9tn September, BJP national president JP Nadda appointed in-charges for various states and union territories including poll-bound states like Tripura and Telangana.

Bhupender Yadav was replaced by general secretary Vinod Tawde in Bihar whereas Harish Dwivedi continues to be the co-incharge. Om Mathur is the in-charge for Chhattisgarh. Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has been given an organisational responsibility and made in charge of Haryana.

Vinod Sonkar who was in charge of Tripura which goes into election next year has been replaced by former union minister and Noida MP Dr Mahesh Sharma. Former Gujarat chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also been given organisational responsibilities in Punjab and Chandigarh.

Tarun Chugh national general secretary continues to be in charge of Telangana. Kerala has a new in charge in the form of former union minister Prakash Javadekar.

National general secretary Dilip Saikia has been replaced by Dr Laxmi Kant Bajpai in Jharkhand where the BJP locked in the bitter battle with th ruling JMM-Congress. Recently Bajpai was brought to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and has also been made the chief whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha

Notably, there are elections in the two state- Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in the coming months. In the first part of the year 2023, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland will witness elections and the party is preparing for all the state elections.

While the BJP is in power in Meghalaya and Nagaland in alliance with NDA, the party stunned everyone with the Tripura elections in 2018 and also is looking towards repeating its performance.

Karnataka state in which the BJP is in power for the longest will also be a stiff challenge for the saffron party with the kind of backlash that chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has been facing in the recent.

While the BJP continues to be in power in Madhya Pradesh with Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the helmit will be a stiff challenge for them to come back to power in states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, which they lost in the last election. (ANI)

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NADDA ON NDA MEET

Nadda: Kerala Becoming Hotspot Of Terrorism

By LokMarg

Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda on Monday attacked the CPI-M-led Left government in Kerala, saying the state is “becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements” and “communal tensions are increasing”.

Nadda, who inaugurated BJP district office in Thycaud and addressed booth presidents and booth Incharges district level meeting in Kowdiar in the state, alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was involved in corruption.
“The Kerala government is neck deep in corruption. When even the CM office of a state ends up under the ambit of corruption, what else could be more unfortunate about the governance therein? This is how the LDF government is ruining and destroying the state of Kerala,” he said.

“Kerala is becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements. Life is not safe, ordinary citizen not finding himself to be safe. Communal tensions are mounting. The tacit support to culprits by the left govt is nothing but state-sponsored lawlessness,” he added.

Nadda said BJP is a structured, cadre-based party that is consistent in its ideology and has a mass following.

He said PM Modi is leaving no stone unturned to uplift each section of society.

“We are lucky to be a part of the BJP as we are the only political party with an ideology which started with Jana Sangh in 1950. The implementation of our ideology is reflected by the fact on our stance on Article 370. Our national commitments is undeterred but the aspiration of regional people are never ignored. We are not just a political party, but a party living on the principles of humanity and social service,” he said.

He said the BJP government has always been pro-poor, taking care of the marginalized in every way possible. “To save people from hunger during the pandemic, PM Modi started PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana under which 5 kg of wheat/rice and 1 kg of pulses were provided to every eligible person.”

“It is a proactive and pro-responsive government and an example of the same is the rescue during the Ukraine war. Thousands of Indian students were trapped in the conflict zone and were brought back safely to their homes.”

He said the new party office is an infrastructure and in this hardware, “you need to put software”. “Our karyakartas are software. You need to use this office as Sanskar kendra. Through this office, you need to give sanskar to the karyakartas”.

He alleged Kerala is entering into a debt trap.

“The financial discipline isn’t being maintained due to the policies of LDF government. This government is synonymous with corruption, and I am sorry to say that CM office is also involved in it.

Not only corruption, but there is nepotism in university appointments as people close to CM are being placed. The powers of Lokayukta are being diluted for protecting the CM office which is involved in corruption.”

In order to give boost to connectivity in the state, a significant amount of finance is being infused for strengthening the network of National Highways in Kerala, Nadda said.

“As BJP is the largest political party, we think on all parameters- the Size, Scale and Skill of the party. We have to be well-equipped and enlightened about what can be done in the best of our capacities- for humanity, for the society, and for the people of Kerala,” he said. (ANI)

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Winds in Bengal May Be Blowing Against Didi

By Sanjoy Narayan

The next big state assembly election after Bihar’s will be in four states—Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Bengal. In Assam, a BJP-led coalition is in power; in Kerala, it is a coalition of left parties rules; in Puducherry, a tiny union territory, it is a Congress government. But of those elections, the one that will be watched most keenly are the elections in West Bengal where for the second term, it is the Trinamool Congress (TMC) that is in power, led by its feisty chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, fondly called “Didi”, by her supporters.

In the wake of the Bihar elections where the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won the recent elections, the focus on what happens in Bengal has turned sharper. But first, a quick rewind on Bihar.

Although Bihar’s incumbent government before the elections was an NDA one, it wasn’t meant to be when the 2015 election results were announced. Then, it was the coalition opposed to the BJP that got the winning numbers. But, famously, after the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (U) quit that coalition and crossed over to support the BJP, the tables turned and Nitish Kumar became chief minister of a NDA government in Bihar. Before this year’s elections, there was much speculation about whether the BJP and Kumar would part ways (the latter has had a love-hate relationship with Prime Minister Modi and his party in the past). That did not happen and Kumar was sworn in as chief minister for a second term.

In Bengal, things are quite different. Ms Banerjee whose party won 222 of the 294 seats in the assembly in 2016 could look like she will contest the next elections, scheduled in 2021, from a position of strength. The Left parties in the state, which was run by a leftist alliance for more than three decades, have been decimated in the past decade—they have just 24 seats in the assembly—and the Congress with 23 fares no better. But all eyes are on the BJP. From virtual non-existence in Bengal, the nationalist party won 16 seats in 2016, and in recent years it has been trying to bolster and grow its support base in the state.

ALSO READ: BJP Now Dominant Partner In Bihar

The BJP’s main issues in its campaign will likely be charges of non-governance against Ms. Banerjee’s government, and allegations that it has been overly appeasing minorities in the state. The BJP has been fanning these sentiments for a while in its efforts to garner voters. If elections in Bengal are held as scheduled (in May), there is barely five months left before voters cast their ballot. The BJP has already ramped up their campaigning. Home Minister Amit Shah, and the party’s president JP Nadda have planned frequent visits to Bengal, to address rallies and strengthen the party’s state-level organisation.

The thing that stands in favour of Ms Banerjee, however, is that unlike the BJP or other opposition parties in the state, in her (as the two-time chief minister), the Trinamool Congress has a face and, obviously, a clear chief ministerial candidate for the election. The BJP doesn’t. At least not yet. But opposition parties, including the BJP, hope that anti-incumbency sentiments may finally begin to stir up against Ms. Banerjee and her Trinamool government.

Earlier this month, a small organisation, Crowdwisdom360 (it calls itself India’s first Political Prediction Market) carried out small on-the-ground polls to get a feel of the political mood in Bengal’s districts. Crowdwisdom360 claims that in the recently-held Bihar elections, its seat-level accuracy was 70%. In Bengal, its surveys appear to show that the BJP’s dual messaging against the Banerjee regime (poor governance; and minority appeasement) has been working better than the incumbent government’s absence of positive messages. Crowdwisdom360’s surveys have shown that voters are unable to zero in on concrete reasons why they should vote for Trinamool candidates.

There are problems with such surveys, of course. First, there could be sampling errors that let biases creep in; and second, in India’s electoral politics, things change sometimes quite mercurially. But even if such surveys are disregarded, the mood in Bengal as it heads for another election is quite different from what it was when Ms. Banerjee steered her party to victory for the second time in 2016.

There is discontent among rural voters, largely fuelled by what is perceived as minority appeasement; the COVID-19 pandemic has not helped matters; and the opposition’s campaigns, particularly the BJP’s, have been having an impact. In 2021, for Ms. Banerjee and her party, returning to power for the third time may not be a cakewalk.