With Amit Shah’s virtual rally, the BJP has already sounded the poll bugle in Bihar
Prerna Katiyar
Home Minister Amit Shah addresses a virtual rally in Bihar from New Delhi on June 7.
Bihar has moved from jungle raj (anarchy) to janta raj (democracy) under the NDA,” Home Minister Amit Shah said on June 7, addressing the people of Bihar in a first-of-its-kind virtual rally from Delhi. He also said he was confident the alliance in power in the state would get a majority in the assembly polls due later this year.
The comments made it clear the BJP, which is part of the ruling alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), would go full steam ahead and organise virtual rallies for the elections so that it can canvass safely in the midst of the pandemic. “Amit Shah’s virtual rally kicks off our digital campaign for the assembly elections in Bihar,” says state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal.
Bihar is home to a large number of migrant workers who are returning home from across the country as the lockdown has wiped out jobs. There have been several reports on the hardships being faced by such migrant workers.
The state health department has had its hands full testing residents and migrants for the novel coronavirus.
On May 31, the state BJP unit kicked off a campaign — Pradhan Mantri Ke Mann Ki Baat, Saptarishi Ke Saath. The PM addressed several seven-member booth level committees.
Election- Likely in Oct-Nov
No. of Seats in the Assembly- 243
Campaign in Covid-19 Times- Through virtual rallies, FB live, live chats, WhatsApp groups, virtual conferences, door-to-door pamphlet distribution
Agencies
Break Up Source: Election Commission of India
These people were then asked to take his message to the people to mobilise support. “Both programmes were grand successes,” says Jaiswal. The state BJP chief was addressing the party’s district unit presidents through video conference when ET Magazine caught up with the Lok Sabha MP from West Champaran and the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.
Sitting a few feet away and speaking from behind a mask, BJP’s General Secretary (Organisation) Nagendra Nath exhorts the district chiefs to energise the organisational units at the panchayat level. “Please remember, labour today will bear fruit tomorrow. Mobilise everyone for house-to-house contact programmes and virtual rallies. Take a WhatsApp connection and follow up. Set a target of how many houses we have reached out to.”
Party members participate in a virtual rally in Patna P arty members participate in a virtual rally in Patna
The party has been training its district, block and booth presidents on participating in virtual meetings. “Now even our booth-level presidents are trained in this,” Jaiswal added. The BJP has 54 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly. The largest partner in the 131-MLA alliance is the JD(U), which has 70.
The JD(U), meanwhile, is staying in step with its IT-savvy alliance partner. “We started training our cadre for virtual meets well before the lockdown,” says JD(U) leader KC Tyagi. “Use of social media will only grow now.
The traditional ways of holding rallies are being reworked.” The engagement for electioneering will change due to restrictions on public meetings and mass gatherings and also because of the fear of the contagion.
The Election Commission is also gearing up for sweeping changes in the conduct of elections. “We shall step up the use of digital technologies in voter awareness, outreach and training. We will make greater use of digital and media platforms, including bulk SMS, social media, television advertising, FM and community radios, National Voter Service Portal and the ECI app,” Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told ET Magazine in an interview.
Parties are aware of the limitations of this form of electioneering. “Earlier, a rally by the PM could easily accommodate 10 lakh people. The limitations of WhatsApp and virtual rallies would mean the frequency of such programmes has to increase,” says a senior leader who works closely with the Union home minister. Therefore, BJP is set to hold virtual meetings covering all 243 assembly segments. “No part of Bihar will remain untouched,” claims a state BJP leader.
The opposition camp, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, is yet to come up with an election plan for the state. With party supremo Lalu Prasad in jail, his sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav have been holding fort. However, senior party members say the sons can’t be compared with the father. Lalu Prasad, known for his rustic one-liners, was a crowd-puller on his own.
The younger son, Tejaswi, says it is not the time to discuss elections. But the party held a door-to-door campaign called Gareeb Adhikar Divas on the day Shah had his virtual rally. “BJP’s double engine (at the Centre and state) has failed and Nitish babu is merely holding video conferences,” says Tejaswi. “Bihar is in a bad shape with poor quarantine facilities and hospitals. Migrant labourers are dying every day. NDA held a maut ka jashna (a celebration of death) on June 7.” He says he would rather reach out to people directly than hold virtual rallies.
People in the state, on their part, are questioning his two-month absence from Bihar during the lockdown. The ruling parties had even put out mock look-out posters targeting him. There have also been some murmurs of discontentment within the RJD-led alliance, the Mahagatbandhan. Tejaswi says all differences will be sorted out in time.
The BJP, meanwhile, is strengthening its booth network. “Out of 72,727 booths in Bihar, we have got reports from 60,000 over WhatsApp shows that we are poll ready,” says Jaiswal. known for his rustic one-liners, was a crowd-puller on his own.
