NEW DELHI: The BJP has stepped up its nationwide campaign to counter Opposition protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deploying party workers, senior leaders and Union ministers to mobilise public support.
Under the slogan ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’, the party is conducting public outreach and digital campaigns across the country, from villages and district headquarters to state capitals. The campaign is focused particularly on poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, where the BJP sees the SIR controversy as a major political issue.
The party aims to challenge the Opposition's objections to the Election Commission of India's voter-list revision exercise and question why the Congress and other parties are opposing the process. BJP leaders have also taken out padyatras across the country, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah among those leading the campaign.
The intensified campaign follows Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's street-level protests against SIR and his efforts to build an anti-government narrative through social media posts and reels.
In response, the BJP has decided to take the political contest to Opposition strongholds, asking its leaders and workers to highlight what it describes as inconsistencies in the Opposition's position on electoral reforms.
The BJP maintains that a transparent revision of electoral rolls is essential to safeguarding democracy. It has accused the Opposition of trying to protect questionable entries and prevent the removal of alleged fake voters. The Opposition, however, has raised concerns about the exercise and its implications for voters' rights.
A senior BJP functionary told this newspaper on Friday that the campaign had gained further momentum following recent personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Congress leaders, including remarks by party president Mallikarjun Kharge about the Prime Minister's father.
According to a senior party functionary, the remarks have given the BJP another opportunity to question the Opposition's approach and accuse it of resorting to personal attacks instead of focusing on substantive issues.
The party's latest stance signals a more aggressive political strategy, with the BJP indicating that it would respond more forcefully to Rahul Gandhi's attacks on the Prime Minister.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reinforced this message during his recent visit to Karnal in Haryana. Warning the Opposition against what he described as declining standards of political discourse in the Congress, Shah reportedly said that if Rahul Gandhi continued with his ‘sadak-chhaap’ style of politics, the BJP would respond in the same language.
The campaign reflects the BJP's effort to turn the SIR controversy from an Opposition-led protest into a nationwide political debate through grassroots mobilisation and digital outreach ahead of crucial electoral contests.
