From our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party chief C R Patil, thrice an MP from Navsari, has been handpicked up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to oversee the Lok Sabha polls in key states, including Uttar Pradesh. He was recognised by the PM for playing a vital role in micro-managing his home constituency,Varanasi.
He is most likely to be made in-charge of Uttar Pradesh as per Modi’s wish. He has an impressive track record in Gujarat, where is is credited with securing a historic 156 out o 182 Assembly seats and increasing the BJP’s vote share from 49 to 53 per cent.
Modi himself praised Patil and urged the BJP leaders and MPs to adopt the “Patil Model” for devising the electorl strategy in other states. Following Modi’s discussions with Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda and national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh, a decision was taken to assign the task to Patil not only UP but in severl theer states, including Madhya Pradesh, Hayana, Rajasthan, Telangana and Odisha. Patil may also become part of the top-level coterie and given a ministerial post at the Centre for movements to handle the party’s campaign.
In preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party has made national general secretary Sunil Bansal as the head of is month-long outreach campaign, Maha Jansampark Abhiyan, to create awareness of the voters about the benefits of the PM’s flagship schemes. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur is to assume additional organisational and electoral resposibilities in the state.
Former state ministers Shrikant Sharma and Sidharth Nath Singh, who were earlier managing the party’s media in the national headquarters, are also expected to be entrusted important role in UP where the BJP has set an ambitious target of winning 75 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats as against 62 seats secured in 2019.
The BJP is also contemplating the organisational changes in othr states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Telangana and Odisha. The party is also exploring the revamp of its units in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Karnataka.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP faces a formidable challenge from former Congress chief minister Kamal Nath, the leadership plans a major oranisational reshuffle under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Union Minister Pralhad Singh Patel is being considered elevation as the BJP head of Madhya Pradesh unit since incumbent V D Sharma lacks a sstrong rapport with the chief minister.
Also, Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay Kumar may be reassigned to a national role as part of the strategic realignment.
