VIJAYAWADA: With the election canvassing of the BJP’s star campaigners almost coming to an end in the State, the saffron party has pinned hopes on six-eight candidates to emerge victors in the elections, it is learnt. However, while many of its leaders are putting up a brave face in the public, several in the party are pooh-poohing the prospects of clinching any seat, thanks to the BJP’s ‘lacklustre’ campaign.
Though the party had roped in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its national president Amit Shah, Cabinet ministers Piyush Goyal and Rajnath Singh, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the public response has not been on the expected lines. On the last day of the campaign on Tuesday, the saffron party initially planned to have Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman canvassing for its MP and MLA candidates, but it has been cancelled.
The party members say, this “is indicative of how seriously the BJP considers its presence in AP”. Meanwhile, the BJP leaders maintain that there is not much animosity against the BJP, as claimed by the TDP. But if the party is not able to secure even one seat – which majority of the surveys claim would be the case, then there would not be any representation by the BJP candidates from Andhra Pradesh in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Sources in the party say the central and state leadership have assessed that candidates in six-eight Lok Sabha segments might put up a tough fight. The probable candidates, who the party expects to make the cut, include Kanna Lakshminarayana from Narasaraopet, D Purandeswari from Visakhapatnam, Dr V Parthasarathi from Kurnool and P Sanyasi Raju from Vizianagaram.
The possibility that one of the winners could most likely be inducted to the Union cabinet may also not work in the contestants’ favour. “Our poll campaign did not pan out as planned. We may win one MP seat at the most, even though we have strong candidates,” a senior leader said on the condition of anonymity. However, he was quick to add, “We are confident of improving our vote share this time.” It may be recalled that the BJP managed to get seven per cent share in 2014 as it had partnered with the TDP.