BJP Mulls Dropping One-Third of Sitting MPs in Bid to Tackle Anti-Incumbency
NEW DELHI: In what could be a bid to infuse fresh blood in the party and quell anti-incumbency, the BJP central leadership is likely to drop the candidature of at least one-third of sitting Lok Sabha members, including those who have won multiple elections in the past, in the upcoming parliamentary polls later this year.
After internal party surveys pointing to a dent in the winnability of certain candidates, the party is mulling over proposals to axe sitting MPs who are facing anti-incumbency in their respective constituencies, sources in the party said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party had bagged 301 seats.
Sources said that it had come to the notice of the central leadership that despite all the support for the Narendra Modi government, some BJP Lok Sabha members are laggards in their constituencies and that all such unpopular ones will be replaced with new faces in the general election.
“Based on multiple feedback, around one-third of our sitting Lok Sabha members are likely to be denied tickets in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, which may include those who won multiple times,” a senior party leader said.
Another party leader said that those who will be denied tickets will be asked to strengthen the party’s poll prospects in the Lok Sabha election and work to ensure the victory of BJP candidates in their areas.
“The party high-ups have taken into consideration factors such as age. The winnability of candidates will be the primary criterion for picking a suitable candidate,” a senior party leader said.
In keeping with the party’s stance against nepotism and dynasty in politics, the rule of only one ticket to one family member will be also strictly enforced in the forthcoming national elections.
Decisions on denying tickets to sitting parliamentarians will be made on the basis of surveys conducted by the central and state leadership, as well as the feedback of local units and popular opinion.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
“NaMo” app last month had launched a survey to gauge the popular mood on a variety of issues, including people’s views about the performance of his government and that of the Members of Parliament.
The “Jan Man Survey” on the “NaMo” app also allows users to directly share their feedback about the performance of local MPs. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the link for participating in the survey and sought people’s feedback on the progress achieved by India in various sectors in the past 10 years.
A party leader said the BJP has always been a party with its ear to the ground, and a direct connection with the people, and successive wins in state elections or general elections are a testimony to its constant endeavour to be connected to the people, understand their needs and be one with their dreams.
Prime Minister Modi is himself a mass communicator and is connected directly to large audiences through social media apps and his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat to gauge the people’s mood and gain real-time feedback on issues connected to the masses.
