BJP seeks online feedback for picking candidates for LS polls

NEW DELHI: The BJP is seeking online feedback on the aspirants for party tickets ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, an exercise akin to the US-style primaries that is aimed mainly at giving its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi a fair idea of the local sentiment about the hopefuls while choosing candidates.

Latching on the idea flagged off by the Congress, the BJP is inviting feedback on a portal dedicated to its ‘mission 272+’ as a sort of web primaries before allocating tickets.

Modi firmly believes that faulty selection of candidates could derail his campaign, a BJP leader said, adding that online feedback would help the party avoid the mistakes that it committed in the recent Delhi assembly polls.

“On several seats in Delhi, considerations other than local sentiment weighed much too heavily in ticket distribution. Caste factors and all are fine, but if there is local sentiment against a candidate it can play havoc,” said the leader, who was involved in the exercise. The portal, which has 545 separate constituency-wise sites for hyper local registration, has already been getting registrations and comments on various local issues, and very soon, portal developers said, the emphasis will shift to who volunteers see as a suitable candidate in each constituency.

“A more formal format for the district-wise registration will be launched in a day or two, which will solicit opinion on local issues to be highlighted and space for free text in case any comments have to be posted,” said the leader.

While registering, volunteers are asked for voter ID numbers and scanned copies of voter identity cards, in some cases, to ensure that these are in fact voters of that particular constituency. The various district-level sites have already received inputs on candidates and MPs and ticket hopefuls are soliciting support on the portal.

BM Bacchegowda, who is seeking the party ticket from Chikballarpur in Karnataka, is one of many such candidates who have asked their supporters to register on constituency site on the portal, to drum up some support for their candidature.

The exercise will complement the party’s established system of candidate selection done through its state units and the central election committee, party leaders said.

“As of now, state units send their suggestions for candidates to the central election committee, after which the central leadership takes a call. The idea is to provide feedback to the senior leadership of the party which is divorced of any obvious agenda,” said a senior leader.

Modi seems to have put in place a parallel network to ensure “360 degree” information on candidates.

“We will also be putting together a manifesto for each Lok Sabha seat, for which suggestions are being invited,” added the leader.