THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Determined to make an impact in the local body polls later this year, the state BJP, under a new leadership, is gearing up with major strategies and organisational rework.
Going by initial plans, the party will target victory in three city corporations: Thiruvananthappuram, Thrissur and Kollam. Sensing winning possibilities in certain strategically crucial pockets, it will try to capture seats that are currently with the UDF, by concentrating on Congress, NSS and Christian strongholds.
With less than a year remaining for the state assembly election, the BJP wants to make its presence felt in the local body polls. The party is in the process of finalising an elaborate strategic framework for panchayats. Retaining existing seats would be priority. The saffron party also wants to make its presence felt--either by winning seats or playing a crucial role--in regions where it’s organisationally strong.
The BJP-led National Democratic Front (NDA) now controls two municipalities--Palakkad and Pandalam--in addition to 19 grama panchayats in the state. Currently, the front has close to 1,600 ward members across the state -- which it would want to increase, too.
Contrary to its normal pattern, the party has come up with a new organisational mechanism for the panchayat elections, a senior leader said. State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is very much part of the micro-level planning. The party has formulated five-member core teams in each ward to prepare for the election.
Targets for each panchayat were fixed by the state leadership; conventions were subsequently held and finally a road map for May to November is to be presented. Those in charge of panchayats would be finalised later.
This has been done in a professional, time-bound and systematic manner. “Even ward categorisation has been done based on a clear-cut strategic outline.
The primary target would be to make inroads into Congress belts. In the second phase, we will focus on regions where the CPM has a strong presence, especially in wards where there’s considerable presence of communities such as the Ezhava, OBCs and scheduled castes and tribes,” said another senior leader.