Even though the official announcement of Panchayat elections has not been made yet in Rajasthan, political activities have intensified. From the streets of the villages to the chaupalas, a political atmosphere has started taking shape. In this context, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started a big campaign to strengthen the electoral ground.
BJP has started ‘Gram Rath Campaign’ from April 28, the aim of which is to strengthen the party’s reach to about 14 thousand panchayats of the state. Under this campaign, 183 special village chariots have been fielded, through which party leaders and workers are going from village to village and communicating with the public.
The command of this campaign is also being handled at the level of Chief Minister and Ministers, due to which it is getting direct support from the top leadership of the party. Efforts are being made to take the government schemes, development works and party policies to rural areas through Gram Raths.
According to political analysts, there has long been a perception in Rajasthan that BJP’s hold in rural areas is relatively weak and most of the rural votes have been going in favor of Congress. In such a situation, this campaign of BJP before the Panchayat elections is being seen as a strategy to break into the traditional vote bank of Congress. The party has also deployed a special team of about 350 leaders to make this entire campaign successful. Of these, 183 workers have been assigned the responsibility of different Gram Raths, who are continuously visiting rural areas.
Through these chariots, not only publicity is being made, but also the problems of the local people are being heard and efforts are being made to find solutions to them. The party claims that this campaign will help in strengthening the organization at the grassroots level. BJP leaders say that this campaign is not just election preparation, but an effort for rural development and direct connection with the public. Whereas the opposition is calling it purely an election strategy.
Curiosity about this campaign is also being seen in the villages. Somewhere people are considering it as a development initiative, while somewhere it is being seen as an attempt to create an election environment. At present, the dates of Panchayat elections are awaited, but before that, political activity has intensified in the villages of Rajasthan and both the major parties have become active in the field with their respective strategies.
