BJP Gears up for 2019 Elections: To Set up 75 ‘War Camps’ in UP

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be fought from the high tech offices.

Model image of BJP’s new high tech office.

(Photo Courtesy : Vikrant Dubey/ Quint Hindi)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election strategists have already begun preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In 2014, the BJP clinched 73 seats in Uttar Pradesh. In order to ensure that the winning steak continues, the party’s strategy is now to build 75 ‘war camps’ in the state.

War Camps – BJP’s Arsenal for 2019

The new BJP offices will have access to all the tools needed for an election.

Essentially, war camps are the new party offices – the most high-tech offices as yet – the kind that no other political party has so far. These BJP offices will have access to all the tools needed for an election. The new offices are being designed under the supervision of BJP chief Amit Shah.

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are more than a year away, and already every political party is hoping to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But in reality, the only real strategy opposing political parties have is to form a grand alliance against the BJP. Meanwhile, the saffron party has started working on hitting back at every front. From promotional activities at the grassroots level to using advanced technology, the BJP has prepared campaign strategies already. Among these, the most significant are BJP’s war camps.

Special Features of These War Camps

• All 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh to have high-tech party offices
• Three-storey building in 3,000-5,000 square feet carpet area
• All offices will be connected to the central office in Delhi and state office in Lucknow
• Large LED screens for promoting government schemes
• Almost all offices are being constructed close to highways
• Special photo galleries and library
• IT centre and call centre
• At least two conference halls – one large and one small
• All halls to be equipped with video conferencing capabilities
• Rooms and cubicles for main officials

Uttar Pradesh BJP vice president Rakesh Trivedi believes that “the soul of a party lives in its offices; if there is no proper office then where will the officials and workers work from?”

During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2017 Assembly elections, party president Amit Shah spent a significant amount of time in UP. He is the first party president who wants to spend more time in party offices.

Since most of the offices in Uttar Pradesh have old infrastructure, it cannot be renovated. Hence, the offices need to be built from scratch. The leadership also believes that it is imperative to respond to changing times.

Hence, Shah decided that all 75 districts in UP will get new BJP offices which will be equipped with the latest technology, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be fought from there.

BJP’s Revamped Strategy for UP

The saffron party already has district and metro-level offices in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh, but because towns and cities have constantly been expanding, the locations have become old.

Most big party leaders do not usually visit the party offices. As a result, the party is not able to fully capitalise on their visit. The new offices will now have guest rooms for senior party leaders to stay. In addition, the leaders will be able to operate their entire office from there.

According to building in-charge and state vice president Rakesh Trivedi, all the offices will be ready by March 2018. Apart from the land, over Rs 1 crore will be spent on the construction of these offices. Contributions by party workers will fund the project.

BJP UP state vice president Rakesh Trivedi, along with fellow workers. 

Is a War Camp an Offshoot of the Gujarat Model?

This high-tech office strategy is essentially the Gujarat model. The BJP has similar offices in Gujarat, which the party believes will be very successful.

In 2014, a well-equipped office on similar lines had been set up for Narendra Modi, who contested the election from Varanasi. The spot became a centre for senior party leaders and the BJP dubbed it “war camp.”

That was the spot from where Amit Shah managed the party’s nationwide election strategy.

(The story was originally published on Quint Hindi)

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