BJP to reach out to voters; apprise them of Modi-achievements
What's the story
Senior BJP leaders embarked on a mission to reach out to the voters in Uttar Pradesh and inform them about the work done by the Narendra Modi-led government in last four years.
Called the Vishesh Sampark Abhiyaan (Special Contact Campaign), the 15-day program, which began on June 1, is likely to witness a number of Union >inisters descending at different places across the state.
Names
Who all are going to apprise people about Modi's achievement?
The Union Ministers likely to be in UP are Rajnath Singh (in Lucknow), Manoj Sinha (Aligarh on June 13), VK Singh (Varanasi on June 9), Satyapal Singh (Allahabad on June 10), Santosh Gangwar (Agra on June 14).
"Others include Mahesh Sharma (Faizabad), Shiv Pratap Shukla (Bareilly on June 11) and Krishnaraj (Firozabad on June 7)," Amarpal Maurya, UP coordinator of Vishesh Sampark Abhiyaan, said.
Other names
UP CM, Deputy CM are also engaged in the exercise
Maurya also said UP Chief Minister Adityanath would be going to Gorakhpur, his own citadel, Varanasi, and Lucknow.
Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma was likely to be in Varanasi, while national general secretary Anil Jain was likely to be in Kanpur, he said, adding that even party office bearers of the state unit were assigned tasks under the campaign.
Aim
Campaign aims to reach out to 16,000 families
Maurya claimed that the party through this campaign aims to reach out to 16,000 families.
When asked if there was a separate focus on the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, which the party lost in the by-polls, Maurya said, "This is a nationwide campaign, and is a part of the efforts by the party to reach to its voters."
Why Vishesh?
Why is the word 'Vishesh' prefixed to the campaign name?
"The word 'Vishesh' has been prefixed to the campaign, as through this, the party aims to reach to the intellectuals in the society," UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said.
"The intellectual class of the society are the opinion makers," he added.
He also said former UP BJP chiefs Ramapati Ram Tripathi (for Meerut), Surya Pratap Shahi (for Kanpur) were also engaged with the campaign.
Confidence
Intellectuals will persuade others to cast vote to BJP: Spokesperson
When asked how BJP would ensure that opinion makers will help it by ensuring a high polling turnout, Tripathi said, "The interaction through the campaign will help the intellectual class to associate itself with the political process and not stay isolated from it."
He said he was confident that they would exercise their voting rights and motivate other to cast their vote as well.
Approach
BJP may approach some retired judges of the High Court
A senior party leader said the party might approach some retired judges of the High Court to mold public opinion in Varanasi, though the list of names was yet to be finalized.
"As far as Ayodhya is concerned, the party is likely to approach the seers, a list of which is yet to be finalized," another party leader said.