NEW DELHI: In what appeared to be a meticulously chalked-out strategy the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave another push to its 'Mission South' ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in some states and the next 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As part of the mission, the Modi government after a month of deliberations within its think-tank nominated the four eminent personalities on Wednesday to the Rajya Sabha from various acclaimed fields.
Sources in BJP on Thursday in private conversation with this daily stated that more such surprising moves are in the pipeline of the party as part of the well-thought-out 'Mission South' keeping regional electoral issues in mind.
"Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala are the prime target of the party's mission south in which every issue concerning the people and conducive to electoral gains are being included after the expert scrutinise," shared a senior BJP functionary.
For example, athlete PT Usha, who belongs to Kerala carries a name and fame in mass electorates of Kerala and her nomination to the RS has given a strong message among a larger section of sport-loving young electorates.
"In the same way, music composer Ilaiyaraaja, philanthropist Virendra Hedge and famous screenwriter-director V Vijayendra Prasad-all acclaimed in larger sections of electorates, who have not started appreciating the party's decision to nominate them to the RS. In politics, perception matters a lot in deciding the final outcome of the electorate battles," remarked a former BJP MP, who is still considered close to the senior central leadership of the party.
He pointed out, "In this way, on the sideline of nominations to the Rajya Sabha, BJP has tried to give even more edge to its 'Mission South' and more is learnt to be in the pipeline to put the Opposition in a tatter."
World acclaimed athlete PT Usha is from Kerala. Ilaiyaraaja hails from Tamil Nadu and belongs to the Dalit community while Hedge heads the famous shrine temple of Karnataka. Not only this, if we look, V Vijayendra Prasad comes from Andhra Pradesh and is widely acclaimed amongst the movie buffs for producing super-hit films like 'Bahubali'.
"The list from the south for the RS is a reflection of Modi's vision of inclusivity in selecting people, who have delivered and made a mark of themselves without controversies. Certainly, their nominations will have a fruitful impact on BJP's electoral success," opined NKD Nambiar, a noted political analyst from South India argued.
He added further that the BJP wants to cultivate the five states of the South - Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana wherein 129 Lok Sabha seats are being eyed for electoral gains.
Sources further said that the maximum, out of a total of 144 Lok Sabha constituencies, recently identified as weak for the BJP, is in these five states of South India.
The recent meeting of the party's National executive committee was also an initial part of this mission followed by the PM's visit to Andhra Pradesh. The BJP wants to use Karnataka as the launching pad of its politics to other states of South India because of being in power here.
In Karnataka, there are 28 Lok Sabha seats, out of which 26 are occupied by BJP+. In poll-bound Telangana and Tamil Nadu, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to dislodge the ruling parties raising dynastic and other issues before the people ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.
In AP, there are 25 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP in the 2029 LS elections had failed to win even a single seat. However, the BJP won the two seats in 2014 in Andhra Pradesh. Now, working to project as an alternative to Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress, the entire electoral stage is farmed here.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the assembly elections are in 2026, so the BJP has given ample time for these two states right from bringing influential faces into the party to raising people-centric issues through various media platforms. In 2024, the party's eye will be on opening an account in Kerala for its total of 20 Lok Sabha seats through proper electoral planning, which has been incorporated in the mission south.