POLITICS
‘Thin’ crowds, workers fighting, protests — BJP yatras in MP & Rajasthan wrap up after tepid response
- Admin
- Sep 26, 2023
‘Thin’ crowds, workers fighting, protests — BJP yatras in MP & Rajasthan wrap up after tepid response
Party had launched Jan Ashirwad Yatras and Parivartan Yatras in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan respectively to mobilise cadres and people. Rallies ended Monday with address by PM.
Empty chairs, “thin” crowds, stones thrown at vehicles, clashes between workers, poor management — the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jan Ashirwad Yatras in Madhya Pradesh and Parivartan Yatras in Rajasthan have set alarm bells ringing at its headquarters in New Delhi,has learnt.
The yatras, both of which concluded Monday, were supposed to mobilise BJP cadres as well as the people in the run-up to assembly elections in these states in November-December. They have instead ended up exposing chinks in the state units, underlining factional fights in the BJP that are becoming more acute due to uncertainty about chief ministerial faces.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power, protests were reported in several pockets of the state during the yatras.
According to party leaders, the main reason behind the poor show at the rallies is the lack of a CM face in both states. Particularly in Rajasthan, Raje’s absence seems to have affected the public turnout.
BJP national president J.P. Nadda and Union Home minister Amit Shah had flagged off the first two legs of the Parivartan Yatra in Rajasthan on 2 and 3 September .
Two other yatras were flagged off by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Covering a total distance of 9,000 km, the series of yatras concluded Monday with a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur.
While Raje was invited to the launch of the yatras, the BJP leadership didn’t seek her involvement as the rallies progressed, multiple leaders said.
Raje is the BJP’s sole mass leader in Rajasthan but has fallen out of favour with the high command as the latter has been seeking to replace her with a fresh face. In the absence of a crowd-puller, the yatras are turning out to be flop shows, a BJP functionary from Rajasthan .
A second functionary said, “The Parivartan Yatra was taken out in Sawai Madhopur, areas in and around Nagaur and Kuchaman and a few other parts of the state. But the response has been quite slow, either due to the absence of senior leaders of the state or because they have not been actively involved.”
“For instance, Raje was earlier supposed to lead the yatra but this was changed later, so that has impacted the crowds. Her supporters are upset that she is not being given importance,” he added.
Apart from the issue of leadership, even the apparently bad condition of raths used in the Rajasthan yatras — highlighting “poor management” — has becoming a talking point in political circles.
Officially, the state unit has dismissed all talk of poor shows at the Parivartan Yatras and blamed the Congress for trying to “mislead the public”.
“The response towards the yatras has been tremendous. In a single constituency, we have been able to interact with at least 50,000 people. This has become a great initiative to connect with the people and understand their concerns. People are also out on the roads to participate in the yatras,” Mukesh Dadhich, state vice-president of Rajasthan BJP.
In Madhya Pradesh, too, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma downplayed all talk of trouble at the Jan Ashirwad Yatras.
“The Jan Ashirwad Yatras have received a tremendous response and have energised workers on the ground. All rallies have been a major success and people are coming out in large numbers across the state for the BJP,” he said.
According to Sharma, the yatras covered 223 assembly constituencies rather than the originally planned 210, and saw 24 lakh people take up membership of the BJP.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power, protests were reported in several pockets of the state during the yatras.
According to party leaders, the main reason behind the poor show at the rallies is the lack of a CM face in both states. Particularly in Rajasthan, Raje’s absence seems to have affected the public turnout.
BJP national president J.P. Nadda and Union Home minister Amit Shah had flagged off the first two legs of the Parivartan Yatra in Rajasthan on 2 and 3 September .
Two other yatras were flagged off by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Covering a total distance of 9,000 km, the series of yatras concluded Monday with a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur.
While Raje was invited to the launch of the yatras, the BJP leadership didn’t seek her involvement as the rallies progressed, multiple leaders said.
Raje is the BJP’s sole mass leader in Rajasthan but has fallen out of favour with the high command as the latter has been seeking to replace her with a fresh face. In the absence of a crowd-puller, the yatras are turning out to be flop shows, a BJP functionary from Rajasthan .
A second functionary said, “The Parivartan Yatra was taken out in Sawai Madhopur, areas in and around Nagaur and Kuchaman and a few other parts of the state. But the response has been quite slow, either due to the absence of senior leaders of the state or because they have not been actively involved.”
“For instance, Raje was earlier supposed to lead the yatra but this was changed later, so that has impacted the crowds. Her supporters are upset that she is not being given importance,” he added.
Apart from the issue of leadership, even the apparently bad condition of raths used in the Rajasthan yatras — highlighting “poor management” — has becoming a talking point in political circles.
Officially, the state unit has dismissed all talk of poor shows at the Parivartan Yatras and blamed the Congress for trying to “mislead the public”.
“The response towards the yatras has been tremendous. In a single constituency, we have been able to interact with at least 50,000 people. This has become a great initiative to connect with the people and understand their concerns. People are also out on the roads to participate in the yatras,” Mukesh Dadhich, state vice-president of Rajasthan BJP.
In Madhya Pradesh, too, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma downplayed all talk of trouble at the Jan Ashirwad Yatras.
“The Jan Ashirwad Yatras have received a tremendous response and have energised workers on the ground. All rallies have been a major success and people are coming out in large numbers across the state for the BJP,” he said.
According to Sharma, the yatras covered 223 assembly constituencies rather than the originally planned 210, and saw 24 lakh people take up membership of the BJP.
