The Bharatiya Janata Party’s ambitious Gaon Chalo Abhiyan is fast losing steam in Uttar Pradesh.
The programme that began on December 15 with the intention of making inroads into the rural interiors and expanding party’s base in the state where elections are due in 2012, is petering out.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari, through this programme, wanted the party to spread its influence in the rural areas and take political advantage of the disillusionment of voters towards the Central and state government.
Leaders who were entrusted with the task of spending nights in villages and interacting with villagers — exposing the true face of the Central and state government — are now content with sharing a meal with villagers and interacting with the local leader in a cursory manner. The mineral water bottles that are served to senior leaders with the specially prepared meals are making more news than the actual interactions.
“Majority of the leaders did not spend nights in villages. They came, delivered speeches, shared a meal, got themselves photographed and left. How can this kind of interaction benefit the party? They were required to stay the night in a village, interact with the people — not leaders — and learn about their problem. Instead they treated this as a photo-opportunity in the media,” said a party functionary.
If party sources are to be believed, party leaders have not even reached out to 40 per cent of the villages earmarked for the programme.
And with barely 10 days left for the programme to conclude, it is unlikely that the party will fulfil the target, more so in view of the prevailing cold wave conditions. As for the form that leaders were required to fill in with details about the condition of the village they visited, the political inclination of the residents and impact of the BJP, a large number of them are reportedly filling it from their confines of their homes.
With the Gaon Chalo Abhiyan petering out, the hopes of party’s revival in UP have also been jeopardised.
“After this fiasco, we will have to either return to aggressive Hindutva or wait for some miracle to help us return to power. Our leaders seem incapable of drawing up a suitable strategy for UP and if this continues, the party may even lose its presence altogether in the next Assembly elections,” said a BJP MLA.