NEW DELHI: The BJP asked its Lok Sabha candidates who lost elections, not to lose heart, but to work hard for the next elections.
In a first meeting of its kind with the failed candidates, the BJP took their feedback, and asked them to continue engaging with the people. The saffron party gathered over 150 such candidates for a day-long strategy session.
BJP chief Rajnath Singh told the party leaders, some of who had recently entered the party fold, that the situation was same as 1947, when only the Congress ruled. Now, it was the BJP, and all other parties had decimated. He also advised the leaders to act as a bridge between the government and people. “If you continue to bring people’s grievance to the government and help your constituencies get some developmental work, it will enhance your reputation with the electorate,” Singh said in his speech.
The session was also addressed by BJP general secretaries Ananth Kumar, Ram Lal and J P Nadda. Among the key leaders who lost elections, but did not attend the meeting, were Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
Sources said the purpose of the session was to take feedback from the leaders on the reasons they lost the election. An individual candidate had important inputs to share on the reasons, be it local, organisational, or inter-party rivalry and the feedback would be complied to work on these factors, a BJP leader said.
“The massive mandate for the Modi Government has brought high expectations for the people. It’s not just the Lok Sabha MPs, but even those candidates who contested unsuccessfully,who will have a role to play to sustain the people’s faith in the NDA government,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said. Hussain himself had lost elections.
Singh assured the gathered leaders that their services would be used when the new organisational team is soon put in place.