BJP kicks off poll campaign in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat

Srinagar, Mar 17 (PTI) Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency is not one of the 400 parliamentary seats that the BJP is confident of winning but within 24 hours of the Election commission announcing the polls, the party held a meeting of cluster and booth heads of Srinagar district in the hope of turning things around.

At a workers’ rally held at Jawahar Nagar Municipal Park on Sunday, senior BJP leader from Jammu and Kashmir Surinder Amberdar said the party has formed clusters — comprising of two to three booths — for effective election campaign.

“The BJP is a cadre based organisation. The preparations here are for the eight assembly segments of Srinagar district. We have made structure of clusters which includes two to three booths. This is an organisational meeting of cluster heads and booth heads,” Amberdar told PTI.

The former MLC said as the Election Commission announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls, the party will take its symbol, ideology and performance card to the electorate.

“The BJP contests the elections based on its ideology and performance. The candidate is important but the organisation is superior. We have to take our symbol, the Lotus, to the people so that they vote for us,” he added.

Asked if the BJP was banking on Narendra Modi as the campaign face, Amberdar said the prime minister was more than just that.

“Narendra Modi is not just the face of this campaign, he is an icon, a global leader and a game changer. We are winning 400 seats and now want to take it higher,” he said.

In response to a question, Amberdar was candid that Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency was not among the 400 seats that the BJP is sure of winning.

“No, Srinagar is not among the 400 seats. We are trying to make it 401 from here,” he said.

BJP spokesman Arun Gupta said the party has prepared a white paper on its 10-year performance.

“We will be issuing a white paper on the 10 years of the BJP rule. It is your (workers) duty to take it to every person,” Gupta said.

“The government has made efforts to develop the country. We have collected the data on GDP inflation etc. in 2014 when we came to power and now in 2024,” he added.

Gupta said while the government has done its job, the party cannot be successful if information about the good work done reach all the voters.

Srinagar Lok Sabha seat has been traditionally a bastion of the National Conference (NC) with the regional party losing only once from here in 2014.

PDP candidate Tariq Hamid Karra, who has since joined the Congress, defeated NC president Farooq Abdullah for his only electoral loss in 2014.