NEW DELHI: Having identified southern and eastern parts of the country as areas of the fierce electoral battleground, the BJP is gearing up to unleash “rabid sub-nationalism” in the region in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP chief Amit Shah is learnt to have told the party general secretaries that the saffron outfit would not be seeking incremental but substantial gains in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
“The unique cultural identities of the states in the south and east are in line with BJP’s idea of India. Others may accuse us of playing up rabid sub-nationalism, but the BJP will go extra miles to give due recognition to the cultural icons, including Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, at the national level,” said a senior BJP functionary.
The party leader stated that the southern states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala, will be the region for “fierce electoral battle” in 2019. Lok Sabha elections. “The BJP has to make substantial gains in these states for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the party will pour maximum energy in the region. The party will approach the states on its strength and will not be inhibited in any manner by any of the current or future allies,” said the BJP functionary. Incidentally, the BJP chief Amit Shah is embarking on three days long visit to Tamil Nadu next week.
BJP is an ally of the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh, while hints have been dropped off the two factions of
AIADMK upon their merger joining the NDA. “We have the UP model before us for our current and future allies in the southern states. As we swept UP along with our allies and almost blanked out the Opposition in the state, the BJP can bring to the table similar scenario in TN, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The BJP and the current and future allies can look for maximum gains with the expansion of the respective support bases,” said the functionary.
Incidentally, the BJP chief has held a marathon meeting with the party general secretaries and scores of Union ministers last week during which the party had set an ambitious target to win southern and eastern states in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in a bid to substantially shore up the number in the Lok Sabha.