With less than five months away from the Assembly elections in the State, the BJP today announced to field candidates in all the 60 seats in the polls due in February next year.
State BJP president Ernest Mawrie said that the party would contest in all 60 Assembly seats in the State in the 2023 elections.
“We will contest in all 60 seats. The BJP would do well in Meghalaya in the upcoming Assembly elections as the people are very happy with the schemes being implemented by the BJP-led Central government,” Mawrie told media persons.
He said that the party has already finalised its strategies to take on the other parties in the ensuing Assembly polls.
“A door to door campaign will be conducted raising awareness and importance of voting the BJP into power. The elections will be focused around several core issues related to teachers’ plight, vacancies in government jobs, discrepancies in implementation of central schemes and aid given to the State government,” Mawrie said.
According to him, party workers will tirelessly spread the message that Meghalaya can only develop best if the BJP is voted to power.
“Besides, a mass awareness shall be raised against central welfare schemes whose names have been changed by the State government for its own political mileage,” Mawrie said.
Meanwhile, the BJP kick started its pre-poll campaign with back to back meetings of 55 mandal committees. The main agenda of the meet was to form booth level committees to explore the possibilities of winning candidates in the upcoming election.
According to Mawrie, the meetings witnessed a high number of attendees in areas like Mawkynrew, Pynursla, Rambrai, Ampati, Salmanpara, Songsak, Chokpot, Jirang, Nongpoh and other mandals which were always considered as negligible or no presence for BJP in the past.
“The party which had no candidates in Nongthymmai and Shillong East however witnessed hundreds of people joining it,” Mawrie said adding that the party would complete setting up of booth level committees all across the State within this month.
He also said that BJP national president J P Nadda is likely to visit Shillong to address booth committees of various BJP units in constituencies of Shillong.
Mawrie said that a reverse model shall be applied in these constituencies by strengthening the organisation at the mandal and booth levels besides fielding strong candidates to boost its chances of winning.
The party will also strengthen its base in Garo Hills with new members joining the party constantly.
In the last Assembly polls held in 2018, the BJP had fielded 47 candidates. However, it managed to win only in two seats – Pynthorumkhrah (Alexander Laloo Hek) and South Shillong (Sanbor Shullai).
Shullai is now a cabinet minister of the MDA government led by the NPP.
Meanwhile, the BJP received something of a boost with Bhayes Chyrmang, the former East Jaintia Hills district president of KHNAM, joining the saffron party today. He was welcomed into the fold by Mawrie.
Last week also saw the formation of the BJP’s East Shillong mandal committee in the presence of David Kharsati, BJP state vice-president. The meeting was attended by supporters of the party, including Wankitbok Pohshna, who is seeking the BJP ticket for the constituency.
