Lok Sabha polls in sight, Maharashtra BJP to push 11-point programme in PM Modi’s name

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div id=”pcl-full-content”>Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with an eye on making inroads at the grassroots level, the BJP in Maharashtra has decided to implement the ‘Namo 11-point programme’ across the state. The programme includes 11 socio-economic kalyan schemes that aim to empower women, farmers, unorganised labourers etc., with a thrust on infrastructure and development.

“Through the 11-point Namo programme, we will reach out to each and every segment across the state. The upliftment of the poor, the neglected and the oppressed remains high on our agenda. The central and state governments are working together, keeping the kalyan of Maharashtra in mind. It is now the party’s responsibility to take Mission Maharashtra ahead with greater zeal,” state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.

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The BJP has decided to target every segment across the 36 districts, 355 talukas and 40,000-plus villages in the state. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains our best bet when it comes to electoral outcomes. So, from Gram Panchayat to Parliament, we will project Modi,” a BJP functionary said.

The ‘Namo 11-point programme’ promises smart villages, smart cities and improved roads with greater connectivity in rural and urban Maharashtra. It promises to extend benefits of government schemes to women, provide safety kits to construction workers, make villages self-sufficient via solar energy, bring greater accountability in administration, empower Gram Panchayats etc. With skill development programmes to create new job avenues and entrepreneurs, the programme is also aimed at growth and development.

Modi, a binding force

In the three-party Mahayuti coalition of the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), the Modi factor is a binding force. Party leaders say faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership will help paper over differences at the grassroots and ensure better coordination among workers of the three parties.

Even during the Gram Panchayat polls held on Sunday, amidst political turmoil following growing assertion and polarisation between Marathas and OBCs in Maharashtra, the BJP aggressively projected Modi and ‘Moditva’.

When the results for the 2,359 seats were declared on Monday, the BJP, with 778 Gram Panchayats, asserted its supremacy. State BJP leaders were quick to attribute the party’s success to PM Modi’s leadership – a clear departure from the past where elections to local bodies were essentially restricted to respective parties’ district players or state leadership.

“Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and national president J P Nadda, the BJP’s victory march continues,” Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. “Through the Centre’s kalyan schemes, adequately backed by the state, it is our endeavour to ensure that development reaches the last man and the last mile,” he added.

The NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) bagged 407 seats; the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 301 seats each; the Congress, 287 seats; the Shiv Sena (UBT) 115 seats; and others, 327.

“These statistics make no sense as elections are fought panel-wise and not on party symbols. In the upcoming polls contested on party symbols, the Opposition will outshine the ruling coalition,” state Congress chief Nana Patole predicted.

BJP leader Pravin Darekar dismissed the Opposition’s optimism as “wishful thinking”. “The public mandate is proof; they have completely discarded Congress, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray,” he said.

Being the largest party in the alliance, the BJP says it is its responsibility to take its alliance partners along. “Bawankule’s statewide campaign through ‘Meri Mati, Mera Desh’ or ‘Ghar Chalo Abhiyan’ was not restricted to the BJP. It also helped the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) in the Gram Panchayat polls,” a political manager in the BJP said.

Meanwhile, even as a buoyant BJP burst into celebrations post the Gram Panchayat poll results, insiders cautioned that the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be fought on a much larger scale. “Every election brings greater challenges. The Gram Panchayat polls have entrusted bigger responsibilities to us and our workers. We are aware of these challenges. We will redouble our efforts,” Bawankule said.