Amit Shah rolls out blueprint for 350-plus seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

The mission 350-plus will have a special focus on 150 seats. The new blueprint focuses on 150 seats to compensate for possible losses elsewhere.

Amit Shah/file photo

New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah rolled out a blueprint for 350-plus seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He told the core members of the party that the mission 350-plus will have a special focus on 150 seats.  The new blueprint focuses on 150 seats to compensate for possible losses elsewhere. A presentation was made during the meeting which was chaired by Shah and attended by eight Union Ministers. The members discussed on how to strengthen the party which also included feedback, suggestions and also inputs gathered during Shah's tour of states was also taken into consideration. Reportedly, Shah told the party leaders that the BJP will conduct frequent surveys once in three or four months. These surveys will give a feel of the pulse from the ground which will help to alter the strategies accordingly. Extra focus will be given on 150 seats, mainly in states like West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana where the party is trying to emerge as a key electoral player. As per the sources, the ministers were assigned different states. Nadda and Sinha have been assigned West Bengal, while Ravi Shankar Prasad has been assigned Lok Sabha seats in Assam. Likewise, Dharmendra Pradhan has been assigned seats in Kerala while Piyush Goyal will be looking after seats in Tamil Nadu and Nirmala Sitharaman in Karnataka. To prepare for the 2019 elections, the ministers are expected to make regular visits to these Lok Sabha seats and coordinate with regular units. Moreover, the BJP has identified 600 full-time workers who will be deputed to Lok Sabha constituencies until the 2019 elections — a full-time worker will be sent to monitor each Lok Sabha seat.