BJP deploys veterans to mentor contenders in key seats
NEW DELHI: The BJP has deployed a system to get all its first-time contestants mentored by party veterans in all things electoral, senior leaders said on Sunday.
The system, they said, was a throwback to the Mahabharata in which Krishna was charioteer (sarathi) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. His role was not just to drive Arjuna’s chariot but to be his guide, advising him on the practical as well as moral aspects of warfare. This idea of the sarathi has been revived in the party’s campaign plan for the general elections to help fresh contenders and also those facing a particularly difficult contest, said the leaders cited above.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has been assigned this role for commerce minister Piyush Goyal, who is making his electoral debut in Mumbai North constituency. Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi is doing the same for Dharmendra Pradhan in Odisha’s Sambalpur and former education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is the sarathi for newcomer and Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj, who is contesting the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat.
“It is such a beautiful coincidence. When I joined politics, I worked under didi (Sushma Swaraj). As chief minister or as cabinet colleague, she would be the person we would turn to for help,” Pokhriyal said. “Now, I have the opportunity to help her daughter, and I am so grateful for that opportunity.’’
After arriving in the Capital for this assignment last week, Pokhriyal has been meeting people in her constituency. He has been meeting party workers and booth managers to make sure that all arrangements are on track. It’s all behindthe-scenes work, but it’s one that’s a crucial responsibility because it ensures senior leaders are held accountable for the successes of those they are mentoring.
Unlike Pokhriyal, who is not contesting the polls, Joshi had his own fight in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh, but was assigned Pradhan’s constituency, which votes towards the end of the election cycle. “When I was in Rajasthan in my constituency, all the big leaders came to help my campaign,” Joshi said. “Now it is my turn to go and help out. It’s an honour.”
This system of mentoring seems to be an extension of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s philosophy of pravasi karyakartas, or workers who are assigned areas outside of their usual zone of operation for poll campaigns. The objective is to keep the organisation active and strong. All sarathis are strictly behind the scenes, a trait that distinguishes them from star campaigners.
BJP’s Gujarat leader Alpesh Thakore, for instance, was a star campaigner in his home state. Now he’s the sarathi for Anirban Ganguly, a right-wing intellectual who is fighting for the first time in Kolkata’s Jadavpur constituency. “My candidate is a first timer. So for two days, we will first have to learn the issues and local concerns,” Thakore said.
The mentoring isn’t just for newcomers but also for seasoned politicians. For instance, animal husbandry minister Sanjeev Balyan has been assigned Amethi, which is Smriti Irani’s seat that she is fighting to retain. Both seniors and juniors are treated equally and help is assigned wherever needed, a BJP leader said, seeking anonymity. Some of the other sarathis are Pratima Bhowmik in Ranaghat in West Bengal, Biplab Deb in Koraput in Odisha, former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in Kendrapara in Odisha, and Rajendra Rathore in Malkajgiri in Telangana, Tamilisai Soundararajan in Hyderabad, Madan Dilawar in Puri and Gajendra Shekhawat in Jalandhar.