In anticipation of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has embarked on an ambitious campaign to enlist 20,000 new voters in every Vidhan Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The party workers will be tasked with filling out 1,500 to 2,000 forms per week in each assembly segment. New voter registration forms, Form 6, have been distributed to party activists up to the booth level.
In a meeting held in Lucknow, the BJP’s National General Secretary, Dushyant Gautam, provided guidelines to party officials on increasing voter engagement. The campaign will continue until October.
The BJP’s overarching goal is to achieve 60% of the total vote share in the upcoming elections. Given this objective, party officials are intensively working at every booth. Bhupendra Chaudhary, the BJP’s state president, stated that there are currently 161,000 booths in UP. Party workers have been advised to first procure the voter list of their respective booths. With the maximum voter count per booth now increased to 1,500 from the previous limit of 1,200, more booths will be set up across the constituencies, subsequently increasing the number of voters.
From September 1 to 15, party workers, starting from the booth level to state officials, will engage in door-to-door outreach. They will inquire about eligible voters, aged 18 and above, in each household, and provide guidance on filling out and submitting the voter registration forms. During these visits, they will also inform the residents about the BJP and its policies. If a family’s name is registered in a distant booth or centre, BJP activists will assist in making the necessary adjustments.
The party has also made provisions for the online submission of forms through smartphones, ensuring a wider reach. The process of voter registration and verification at home will take place from August 28 to October 10. Subsequently, the draft voter list will be released on October 17, with objections to be filed by November 31. The final voter list will be released before the elections.
For the voter awareness campaign, the BJP has formed dedicated teams ranging from the state to the mandal level. The state-level team comprises MPs, MLAs, state voter list heads, while district teams consist of district voter list chiefs, MPs, MLAs, and members from the BJP’s legal and IT wings. The legal team will address any discrepancies by registering objections with the district election office.