New Delhi [India], September 9 : BJP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge Vinod Tawde has stepped up preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections and entered full election mode. Tawde is scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh from September 16 to 22, during which he will cover three regions and travel to around 15 districts.
According to sources, Tawde is likely to shift to Lucknow after the Ganpati festival. Accommodation is also being explored for him in Lucknow, where he is expected to stay until the Assembly elections and work closely on the party’s election strategy and organisational preparations.
Meanwhile, Tawde has also sent a clear message to party leaders from Uttar Pradesh who have been visiting Delhi to lobby for Assembly tickets. He has advised them to focus on their respective constituencies and strengthen their presence on the ground instead of making repeated trips to Delhi.
Tawde’s message to ticket aspirants is clear: “If you are seen in Delhi, your numbers go down; if you are seen at the booth, your numbers go up.”
The BJP is expected to place strong emphasis on grassroots work, booth-level mobilisation and organisational performance while assessing ticket aspirants ahead of the Assembly elections.
Tawde's first visit to Uttar Pradesh after his appointment as the BJP's state in-charge was on September 5.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up its preparations for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to be held early next year and the appointment of General Secretary Vinod Tawde as the in-charge of the crucial electoral state reflects the party's decision to have an experienced leader with vast experience of elections in the position.
The party has also appointed Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patelas the co-in-charge of the state.
Sources said the BJP's focus is on strengthening social and caste equations. Leaders from Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minority communities in Uttar Pradesh are also being given greater representation in the appointment of office-bearers.
Tawde, a Rajya Sabha MP, has handled several key electoral responsibilities for the BJP and NDA. He is seen to have good rapport with the party's allies.
Tawde has been associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and was its general secretary. He took charge as BJP Maharashtra's general secretary in 1995. This was the period when BJP-Shiv Sena alliance formed the government in Maharashtra. Recognising his organisational skills, he was again given the responsibility of State General Secretary in 2002 and he worked to strengthen the organisation by spreading the BJP's ideology across booths.
In 1999, Tawde became the youngest President of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai unit. During his tenure, the number of corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation doubled and the BJP's representation increased. He also secured a budget of crores for Mumbai from then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which helped shape several development projects in the Mumbai region.