BJP woos north Indian voters ahead of bypoll

Mumbai: After facing embarrassment in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is putting all its might into winning the upcoming Palghar byelection, which is scheduled to be held on May 28. It has sent Bhojpuri actor-singer Manoj Tiwari, a Delhi MP of the party, to woo north Indian voters in Virar tehsil. Out of the six Assembly segments of this constituency, Vasai, Virar and Nalasopara are in Virar tehsil. As of now, all the three are with the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), a local party. But BJP strategists feel that a large number of north Indian voters in the area will help the ‘lotus’ to bloom there.

The BJP has made victory in the Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia byelection a matter of prestige. The party, which had won 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is down to 272, the half-way mark of the Lower House’s total strength of 543. If it loses both seats in Maharashtra, the simple majority of the party will be over. Hence, to avoid further embarrassment, the BJP has decided to pull out all the stops to win in the by-polls.

In Palghar, the party is banking on two factors: the disgruntled Shiv Sena cadre on the ground and sizable north Indian voter presence in the constituency. As the constituency is attached to the Mumbai and Thane, the north Indian voters are deciding factor here.

Mr Tiwari addressed two rallies as well as participated in a road show on Sunday. All three programmes were in the periphery of Virar tehsil.

Traditionally, voters from these three Assembly segments are partial to BVA, which is led by Hitendra Thakur, who is one of the three BVA MLAs here. The local party has also fielded its candidate for the bypoll.

The BJP also received public support from Vivek Pandit, a former MLA from Vasai, on Sunday. Mr Pandit, who is known for his bitter rivalry with Mr Thakur in local politics, attended the rally addressed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in Vasai. This has come as a shot in the arm for the BJP.