SHILLONG, July 6: With Assembly elections just around the corner and in a bid to bolster its political presence in the state, the party high command of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has directed central ministers to visit all Assembly constituencies of Meghalaya.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, BJP Meghalaya in-charge M Chuba Ao informed that the union ministers have been asked by the party high command to pay visit to each and every constituency of the state, hold interactions with the people and be au courant with their grievances.
Shedding light on the party preparedness ahead of 2023 Assembly elections, Ao said that the party in the state has been asked by the BJP high command to bolster its presence, even in the areas which have been untouched till date.
Admitting that the BJP lacks strength in majority of the Assembly constituencies of Meghalaya even though elections are just around the corner, Ao said the party has already tasked General Secretary Thomas Marak with ground-level work in the state.
On the national front, Ao informed that the BJP has started working on those parliamentary constituencies which could not be secured in last Lok Sabha elections.
He said the matter was also discussed in detail in the recent national executive committee meeting of the BJP in Hyderabad.
Informing that Shillong and Tura were one of those parliamentary constituencies which could not be secured in 2019 by the BJP, Ao said, “We have been asked to start working on these (constituencies) where BJP is not winning, and have come out with a strategy.”
He also said that assessments are being conducted to ascertain the reasons for the BJP’s low winnability factor in Meghalaya.
Lamenting that the BJP was often dubbed as anti-Christian party, Ao said, “The trend is now reversing and people have started accepting BJP in the state.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is often perceived as a force to reckon with in electoral politics, has not been able to work its magic in assembly elections in Meghalaya.
Even during the 2013-2014, when the BJP was continuing to politically rise across the country, the situation was quite the otherwise in the state — the saffron party had drawn a blank in 2013 Meghalaya assembly elections. Five years down the line, the situation of the saffron party in Meghalaya slightly ameliorated with the BJP securing two seats in 2018 assembly elections.
