india

Updated: Dec 19, 2018 07:04 IST

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing will launch a two-month campaign to mobilise support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election in 2019, two leaders familiar with the matter said.

The ‘Nation with NaMo’ and ‘Vijay Lakshya [victory target] 2019’ campaign is expected to be launched from Delhi on January 12. The launch will coincide with the birth anniversary of 19th century spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda, whom Modi has described one of the people he has drawn inspiration from.

The campaign follows a national convention titled ‘Vijay Lakshya 2019’ the Bharatiya Janta Yuva (BJYM) Morcha organised in November. The theme has been adopted as the BJP’s campaign slogan for the parliamentary election due next year. The BJYM will hold 14 programmes as part of the campaign that will conclude with a bike rally on March 2. The campaign will cover all 29 states.

“The aim is to build a positive sentiment for Modi before the election…,” one of the BJP leaders said. BJP chief Amit Shah addressed BJYM workers in Delhi last week and asked them to lead the 2019 election campaign.

The BJP wants BJYM activists to reach out especially to the young voters in the 18-35 age group. About 150 million people in this group would be eligible to vote in the 2019 parliamentary elections. It is a significant number given that 814.5 million people were eligible to vote in the last national polls.

The activists plan to reach out to the young voters through “campus ambassadors” in universities and colleges across the country. These ambassadors will then engage with larger audiences on their campuses to showcase Modi’s “firm policies”. They will tell them how he has dealt with issues such as so-called Urban Naxals, a term used for Left-wing intellectuals with alleged Maoist links, and cross-border terrorism from Pakistan with “an iron fist”.

A book on Urban Naxals. too, will be launched in the coming months. Fellows at the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha Study Circle have are working on the book.

The circle is BJYM chief and Parliament member Poonam Mahajan’s a brainchild. She has roped in students and young leaders with interest in research on various subjects for the circle.

“We are sure of a two-thirds majority in the next election,” Mahajan said. “People across the country have overwhelming faith in the prime minister and through the ‘Vijay Lakshya 2019’ campaign, we will act as a medium to repose that faith.”

Another outreach programme will be launched through about 100 legal aid centres that the BJYM plans to set up to provide assistance to victims such as that of the practice of instant divorce among a section of Muslims.

The government tabled a fresh bill to criminalise the practice in Lok Sabha on Monday after failing to have the legislation passed in December last year. The BJP has projected its campaign against the practice as part of its attempts to ensure Muslim women empowerment.

“We are trying to touch base with as many people as we can,’’ said another BJP leader. The leader added the outreach is aimed at capitalising on the “goodwill” Modi enjoys and to convert it into support for him.

The BJYM, too, will form teams of young workers for every polling station on the lines of the booth management system Shah has successfully implemented to win elections. “They will ensure a good turnout in Modi’s favour,” the second leader said.

The first leader said youth voted overwhelmingly for Modi in 2014. “We are aiming to increase this support base.” The second part of the BJP’s youth outreach strategy relates to increasing the party’s presence on social media. “This will be done through enrolment of online volunteers,” the second leader said.