NEW DELHI: After stepping up its campaign, centered on the party’s redoubtable planks — ‘nationalism’ and ‘Hindutva’, the Bharatiya Janata Party will incorporate local issues in its poll discourse in a bid to corner the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.
However, top mandarins and office bearers said while veering to local issues, the party will not take its foot off the pedal when it comes to raising the ongoing Shaheen Bagh protest and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in their campaign speeches. They said the two issues will remain in focus as they seem to be working not just with its foot soldiers but also voters.
“BJP will sharpen its attack on the AAP and the Congress as campaign for the Assembly election enters its home stretch. Both the parties have been instigating the people by spreading canards about the CAA. If they can raise Shaheen Bagh, then we can also talk about the safety and security of the majority community,” said a senior party functionary, who is part of the election management committee for Delhi elections.
Sensing that the AAP was gaining on the BJP with its narrative built around local issues, the party’s top leadership weaved its campaign pitch around ‘nationalism’ and ‘Hindutva’ in a bid to turn the discourse to national issues.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda led the charge on this front, raising the CAA and the Shaheen Bagh sit-in while addressing crowds at campaign events.
Bringing up the nationwide anti-CAA protest, Union minister Anurag Thakur and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma also made communally-loaded statements and raised inflammatory slogans, drawing censure and reprimand by the Election Commission.
“We are also raking up local issues — development, women’s security, and the state of (public) schools, among others. At Wednesday’s rallies, Naddaji spoke about guest teachers, Jan Lok Pal and Delhi Dialogue, which were among the main poll promises of AAP. Amitji has been highliting the poor state of government schools. However, simultaneously, we are also raising CAA and Shaheen Bagh. What’s wrong with it?” another BJP functionary said.