In MP, BJP campaign to focus on social welfare plans

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh later this year will be built around 4-5 themes to convey the state and Union government’s achievements, their spending on social welfare, particularly for women and marginalised sections, and other pro-people initiatives, said leaders aware of the details.

The crux of the campaign -- to be rolled out soon across social media platforms and through special vans in rural areas -- will be the government’s thrust on social welfare and comparison between the Congress and BJP governments, according to a functionary.

The BJP has been in power in the state since 2005. It was out of power briefly for 15 months beginning December 2018, when the Congress formed the government.

Catchy slogans have been coined for the campaign to relay the scope of work that has been undertaken by the BJP government at the Centre and state, though the party is not harping on the double- engine moniker.

One of the themes for the campaign will be “Modi Ke Dil Mein MP (Madhya Pradesh in the heart of Modi)” to illustrate the details of the central schemes.

“Under the theme, the party will give details of the schemes for poverty alleviation and welfare of the poor,” the functionary said, declining to be named. “For instance, how the government provided 44 lakh poor families pucca houses; 1.36 crore families were lifted out of poverty; free ration was given to five crore people and 30 lakh were provided free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.”

Water connection to 64 lakh households under the Jal Jeevan Mission, bank accounts for 3.7 crore women and 1.43 crore cases settled under the crop insurance scheme in the past three years are also part of this theme.

Under the “Jahan Kamal Nishan, Wahan Gareeb Kalyan (the poor benefits under the lotus)” theme, the party will highlight the disbursement of benefits for various sectors, from women empowerment to wildlife conservation. As per details provided by the party, the state government has disbursed ₹3,600 crore under the Ladli Behna scheme to 1.25 crore women in the last three months.

“Because of the government’s initiatives to save wildlife and preserve forests, the state has now become home to the cheetahs as well. The state spent ₹2,123 crore to waive the interest for 11.19 lakh farmers and ₹25,000 crore was under PM Kisan Nidhi in the past three months alone,” the functionary said.

A comparison between the development work and infrastructure building during the Congress rule and during the BJP’s regime will be advertised under the theme of “Fark Saaf Hai (the difference is clear)”.

“The road network in the state was just 44,000 km during the Congress rule and has been expanded to 4,10 lakh km. The budget itself has gone up significantly. Through the government’s initiatives, the agricultural sector has shown progress and the growth rate that was 3% during their time is now 18%. The number of tourists visiting the state has shown an increase. The number has gone up from 64 lakh to nine crore,” the functionary said.

The achievements that put it ahead of other states in terms of delivery has been clubbed under the theme of “Sakshi Hai Sara Desh, Sabse Aage Madhya Pradesh (the country stands witness, MP is ahead of others)”. The government claims that the poll-bound state tops the list as the biggest producer of wheat at 45% of the country’s output.

“We have the largest number of beneficiaries under the Ayushman Scheme and 3.62 crore have been given cards under the scheme that offers health care for the poor,” the functionary said. “Under the PM Awas Yojna for housing in rural areas, the state is second. Indore has been declared the cleanest state six times and the population of tigers has risen from 526 to 785.”