BJP on Tuesday decided to firmly peg its Lok Sabha election campaign on the party's Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, while taking the message to the people that the conditions prevailing now were akin to those witnessed immediately after the Emergency imposed by Congress in 1975.
Following a meeting of chief ministers of five BJP-ruled states and its Parliamentary Board here, general secretary Ananth Kumar told reporters that the election slogan for the party would be 'Modi for PM'.
"BJP's 'Modi for PM' campaign will be on the lines of the JP movement that was launched in the Emergency era to throw out the Congress government," Kumar said.
Maintaining that in 1977, the mood had been strongly anti- Congress, Kumar averred that a similar situation exists today. "It was a watershed year. Nobody thought the opposition could garner so many votes," Kumar said.
The recent Assembly election results show that BJP is head and shoulders above its rivals, Kumar claimed. Kumar also revealed that as part of their ambitious campaign, BJP workers will also collect funds under a 'one vote, one note' programme.
"The minimum amount to be contributed will be Rs 10 while the maximum limit is Rs 1,000," Kumar said.
During the meeting, BJP President Rajnath Singh claimed that wins in three states and a good performance in Delhi in the recent Assembly polls had set the momentum in favour of the party and would help it in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The leaders passed a resolution stating that these results were a referendum that a government has to perform or perish.
The party has only one target — of getting 272-plus seats in Lok Sabha polls.
The party will also hold meetings in over 400 Lok Sabha constituencies before selecting its candidates for the polls.
A national meet of party booth-level workers will be held on February 28 to discuss the micro-level management during polling. The main opposition is also looking to cash in on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday on Wednesday by celebrating it as 'Sushashan Diwas' (Good Governance Day).
The party is also highlighting its success in bagging a sizeable number of reserved seats in the recent Assembly elections, especially in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It will also make efforts to bring more parties into the NDA fold to boost its chances of forming a government at the Centre.
