NEW DELHI: The central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked its Delhi unit to set house in order before starting preparations for the upcoming municipal elections scheduled early next year.
The senior party functionaries, who attended the two-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ (deliberation camp) held in Haridwar to strategise a roadmap for victory in the elections, said that attendees were specifically instructed to put aside their differences and involve more people for expansion of the party’s reach.
“The victory in elections is essential. We can beat anti-incumbency. We should put house in order at the earliest. We should resolve the state of affairs of the unit. The state leadership has also been suggested to engage fresh faces,” said a Delhi BJP leader, quoting BL Santhosh, general secretary.
Santhosh had addressed the gathering on Tuesday, the last day of the convention.
Over 30 Delhi leaders — MPs and members of the core group including city unit chief Adesh Kumar Gupta and general secretary Siddharthan — had attended the camp to discuss the municipal polls and the overall political scenario in the national capital.
Senior members of the core committee also expressed their anguish over the presence of the same set of people at every political event across the city during the meeting, according to an office bearer of Delhi BJP.
“Delhi BJP has become a group of 2,000 motley members. At any party function or a protest, attendees are from the same group. There are only 2,000 known faces who participate. The same officer bearers, functionaries and leaders hold some positions. A core group member said that the nature or theme of a programme should be decided according to the venue. Activities in a Greater Kailash Colony can’t be the same as events in Burari,” said the leader.
Amit Malviya, in-charge of the information and technology department of the BJP also spoke at the event.
He suggested the local unit should keep up pace with changing scenarios and become active on social media platforms.
Vijay Goel, former Union minister, stressed upon early announcement of candidature for the elections so that the contenders can have ample time to discuss achievements of the Modi-led central government and earn trust of the electorates.
Some suggested that incumbent councillors should not be denied tickets just for the sake of it and performers must be given another chance.