The BJP in Himachal Pradesh said Friday it has identified 2,440 polling booths where it is weak and is working at strengthening itself in these areas ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The "weak booths", out of a total of 7,883 in the state, were picked according to the party's performance there in the past three Lok Sabha elections, BJP spokesperson Karan Nanda told PTI.
Lok Sabha MPs will visit these booths and go door to door to improve the party's prospects in the elections next year, he said. Grassroots-level workers have been asked to make people aware of programmes and schemes of the central government, Nanda added.
The BJP has identified 100 booths each from the four parliamentary constituencies of Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur, and 30 booths each in all the 68 assembly constituencies in the state, the BJP leader said.
The process of chalking out programmes to be taken to the booth level has started and the frequency of programmes at the booth level will be increased, he said.
Nanda said additional workers from other booths and mandals would be appointed in these weak booths to strengthen the party there.
The mantra to engage the party workers is "work for every worker and workers for every work", the BJP leaders said, adding that the structure is ready till the ground level with about 23,647 "tridev" (comprising booth presidents, booth palaks and booth level agents) and 1,18,245 "panna pramukh".
The BJP got 69.11 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, winning all the four seats. The Congress secured 27.30 per cent votes. However, the BJP lost the by-elections to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat after the death of sitting MP Ramswroop Sharma in 2021.
The saffron party lost the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections in 2022 in which the Congress bagged 40 seats. The BJP won 25 and Independents three.
In the 2014 polls, the BJP secured 53.85 per cent votes compared to 49.58 per cent in 2009, while the Congress got 41.07 per cent and 45.61 per cent votes in 2014 and 2009 respectively.
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