BJP foundation day: Party flags to be hoisted atop 45 lakh houses in Gujarat

Rajkot, March 28: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party aims to hoist flags atop 45 lakh houses in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat to create an atmosphere akin to the one ahead of the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22, state unit chief CR Paatil said on Thursday.
He said booth-level functionaries and “page presidents” must ensure BJP flags are hoisted on April 6, which is the party’s foundation day.
“Earlier, we had planned to hoist party flags on at least 25 houses in each booth on April 6. There are nearly 400 houses in each booth. So, we realised that if we cover only 25 houses, nearly 375 houses will be left out. We have 150 page committee members in each booth. Firstly, they need to put up flags on their houses and then encourage others to do so,” he said.
“We will need nearly 45 lakh flags. I take the responsibility to supply these 45 lakh flags. You just need to procure plastic pipes which can be cut and used to hoist them. Our orange flag will create an atmosphere which was there in the country during the Ram Temple inauguration,” he told workers in Rajkot.
Urging cadre to use data and social media during campaigning, Paatil said the BJP must win all 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state with a margin of 5 lakh votes.
“I have already shared the data about voters and beneficiaries with MPs, MLAs and district presidents. It includes details about booths where we have not done well in the past. Just with a touch of a button on your mobile, you can find out everything about voters and beneficiaries residing in the house you are visiting,” he said.
A page committee member or a page pramukh in each booth has to make sure that all his family members and neighbours exercise their franchise on voting day, he said.
Paatil said though the BJP won 156 out of 182 seats in the assembly polls held last year, he was not happy since the party could not make a clean sweep, adding there were 20 seats that were lost with a margin of less than 5,000 votes.
“Somnath seat we lost by 922 votes, Chansasma by 1,400 votes, Khedbrahma by 1,600 votes, and Danta by 2,000 votes. Had we put in some more effort, we would have touched the 176 mark. Cadre and page committee members must regularly meet voters in their area and try to increase the voting average, which will in turn help the party,” he said.
“There are 150 page committee members in each booth. Thus, we will put flags on these 150 houses first. Booth presidents can do that. Meet people in your area, put flags on the houses of page committee members,” Paatil said. (PTI)