Delhi to Bhopal: Why BJP’s Parliament heavyweights are contesting in MP

Realising that there is a fatigue factor working against the local MLAs and the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, senior leaders of the BJP are now trying to rework the campaign strategy of the party ahead of the polls.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union minister, who is currently in Indore for election campaigning said, “The Congress party makes its narrative inside the four walls and between four people with their four questions. This is not how narrative is formed, it is not built behind closed doors and among a few people. It is the people of the country who decide what will be the narrative, and it is formed in the hearts of the people. I believe PM Narendra Modi is in the hearts of nine crore people in Madhya Pradesh.

Countering the fatigue factor

Even though the BJP leadership has decided to contest the assembly elections under the leadership of PM Modi, with MP chief minister Chouhan as one of the many leaders who will be part of the election campaign, the BJP's central leadership has now asked at least seven sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) from Madhya Pradesh to contest the assembly elections, in order to help the saffron party to fight the fatigue factor and anti-incumbency against the state government.

To further boost its chances of an election campaign, the BJP’s central leadership has also directed three Union ministers to contest the Madhya Pradesh polls to ensure that the presence of national level leaders will not only galvanise the local cadre but also help the BJP control anti-incumbency against the state government.

Roping in Union ministers, MLAs

In the second list of candidates announced by the BJP on Monday (September 25) evening, BJP has directed Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste to contest in the Madhya Pradesh elections. Out of the 39 people whose names were announced, the BJP leadership has also asked five sitting MPs to also contest. The four MPs are former state president Rakesh Singh, Ganesh Singh, Riti Pathak, and Uday Pratap Singh.

“The decision of the BJP to ask high-profile leaders like sitting MPs, Union ministers, and general secretaries to contest polls is interesting. This idea was first conceived before the assembly elections in Karnataka earlier this year, but it could not be implemented because of the infighting in the party. It is the decision of the Prime Minister to ask senior leaders to start taking responsibility and contest assembly elections to help the BJP,” said a senior BJP leader in the know of the saffron party’s election strategy.

Senior leaders of the BJP elaborated that the central leadership had asked Union ministers, sitting MPs, and general secretaries to contest polls so that the presence of these leaders would act as a force multiplier to attract voters towards the BJP. The BJP members further said that these high-profile contests will help the BJP boost the morale of the local workers and voters, who are facing an uphill task because of the prevalent anti-incumbency against the state government.

Loyal party members

However, not everybody seems to be pleased with the decision, as both Kailash Vijayvargiya and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that they were not consulted by the party leadership before the decision was taken. Patel also said in a statement that he had never contested an assembly election before and that this would be his first assembly polls.

“This is the party’s order. I was told that I would be assigned work, that I would not decline the work assigned to me, and that I would have to complete the task. I was surprised when the tickets were declared and my name was also on the list. I am a loyal soldier of the party, and I will do whatever the decision of the party leadership is. I am sure the BJP will get a two-third majority in the state,” said Vijayvargiya.

BJP's weak points

The decision of the BJP to seek the help of heavyweight politicians like Union ministers, MPs, and general secretaries also makes sense since out of the 39 seats announced on Monday evening, the BJP had lost 35 of these seats to the Congress in the 2018 assembly polls.

Senior BJP leaders said that the party has announced the list of 39 names early because it wants to give time to the contestants to prepare for the elections. Interestingly, the four seats won by the BJP through close contests with the Congress, in which, the winning margin was less than 5,000 votes.

Meanwhile, Prahlad Singh Patel, Union minister said that he is contesting the assembly elections for the first time. “I express my gratitude to the party for their decision. It is my resolve that Congress will not be able to win the Chhindwara seat (of Kamal Nath) this time, and the BJP will demolish the corrupt Congress," he added.

Interesting contest

Political analysts believe that the decision of the BJP to give assembly tickets to Union ministers, MPs, and general secretaries suggests that everything is not under control for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh before the state polls.

Yatindra Singh Sisodia, professor and director at the Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain said, “There are two aspects to this development. The first is that since the BJP has asked Union ministers to contest assembly polls, it is clear that the BJP is struggling in the state. It also gives the perception that it is not going to be easy for the BJP to retain power. The second aspect of this decision is that if the state government had done a lot of work, there was no reason for the BJP to field Union ministers and MPs. The Madhya Pradesh election will be an interesting contest between the BJP and Congress.”