The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to launch a special outreach campaign in the state of Kerala in a bid to attract minorities and put pressure on the state government ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The campaign is in line with another mass contact initiative called “Nanni Modi” or “Thank You Modi”, which was launched on February 28.
As part of this new outreach campaign, the BJP will record testimonies from people who have benefited from the Central government’s various schemes. Party insiders have said that “BJP’s aim is to contact the maximum number of beneficiaries, who will express their happiness through a video saying thank you, Modi”. These videos will then be uploaded to the party’s official social media accounts and shared widely.
The party is also planning a number of minority-centric programmes to further connect with voters. These include an Easter greeting card campaign aimed at the Christian community, a Hindu outreach programme, and a Muslim outreach programme that will start on Eid-ul-Fitr. Additionally, the BJP is focusing on strengthening its organizational structure by reconnecting with former workers at the booth level.
According to a senior BJP source, these campaigns are all part of the party’s election strategy. “The party is throwing all efforts this time to win the maximum number of seats from the State,” he said. The BJP has not won a single seat in the Kerala Assembly Elections in 2021 and saw its vote share shrink by 2.6% from 2016.
The BJP’s outreach campaign aims to dilute barriers between different communities and connect with voters from all sections of society. The party believes that its development initiatives in the state, such as building roads, highways, railways, and ports, will help it gain more support from voters.
