BJP’s poll strategy in Chandigarh : Article 370, Triple Talaq, Pakistan

Chandigarh BJP chief Jatinder Malhotra stated that it is an election of the nation where “desh ki disha” has to be decided and issues focussing on Chandigarh don’t have much significance.

“Ye desh ki disha or dasha teh karne ka chunav hai. Ye national level ka chunav hai. Jab desh viksit banega, toh Chandigarh bhi ussi mein tarakki karega. (This election is for deciding the direction and state of the country. This is a national-level election and if the nation gets developed, Chandigarh too will flourish),” Malhotra told The Indian Express.

The Chandigarh BJP chief also mentioned that if India needs to be made great, it can only be done if people vote for the BJP.

As the election campaign begins picking up pace, a campaign “Vote for Modi” has again started with special messages and pages being circulated on Whatsapp groups. Chandigarh votes on June 1 while counting of the general election is on June 4.

In various public gatherings, BJP candidate Sanjay Tandon and all other party leaders have been speaking about national achievements of the party. On Sunday, while addressing a gathering of chartered accountants, Tandon even spoke about how Congress talks about justice in the election manifesto, but the party’s rule always resulted in “injustice” for Indians and that justice has been ushered in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by way of abolishing Article 370 and ending the triple talaq system.

He even spoke of how the Modi government has delivered exemplary performance during the last ten years by not only making India one of the leading economies of the world, but also by raising the international esteem for the country.

“If I start counting on our achievements they are many. We are informing our citizens in Chandigarh about these achievements. Look at the vast network of highways, roads, and airports constructed. Over 12 crore women had to go out in open to defecate, but today they don’t have to,” Malhotra added.

Sources said that during political meetings in Chandigarh, it was discussed not to address people on city-specific issues since key promises were still in progress, and that the election be fought only on national issues.

Congress city president HS Lucky on the other hand said that the BJP knows if they focus on city’s issues, it would lose the election. “They are well aware that they didn’t do anything for the city residents in the last ten years. Every issue stands unresolved without any solution. The residents of Chandigarh Housing Board are upset as nothing has been done for them. Look at the residents suffering due to dumping ground and what not. All such things remain unfulfilled,” Lucky said.