Cut down on flowers, garlands: BJP's new Madhya Pradesh chief has a message for party members

In his first organisational meeting with Madhya Pradesh BJP functionaries, the party's new state in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday asked leaders to put an end to the culture of grandiose welcomes, including showering flowers from JCB machines, and instead, spend more time with grassroots workers.

At a meeting that lasted around two hours, Deb told state office-bearers, divisional in-charges, and presidents and in-charges of the party's various fronts, that there was no need for oversized garlands, elaborate felicitation programmes or expensive gifts when leaders visited districts, party functionaries told The Indian Express.

Party leaders attending the meeting said he wanted the BJP to move away from displays centred on individual leaders and towards an organisation that was more visible at the grassroots.

Several office-bearers who attended the meeting told The Indian Express that Deb "asked them to spend more time with local karyakartas and make themselves accessible to workers at the booth and mandal levels". His message, they said, was that "leaders should be humble and remain connected to the workers who form the party's organisational base".

Deb also asked party functionaries to change the way the BJP presents itself through banners, posters and hoardings. Instead of large photographs of individual leaders, he said that publicity material should highlight the schemes and development initiatives of the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government and explain their benefits to people, according to a party leader.

'Position temporary, trust lasts longer'

Deb told party functionaries that holding a position in the organisation was temporary, while the trust built among workers lasted longer. "The post is not permanent, but the work done among workers and the trust created among them is remembered for a long time," he said, asking office-bearers to work in such a manner that even after their tenure ended, workers remembered them with respect.

He also asked functionaries to ensure that workers did not become dissatisfied with the organisation because of organisational decisions. Those holding responsibilities at the mandal, district, divisional, Shakti Kendra, booth and panna-pramukh levels, he said, should discharge their respective responsibilities effectively and maintain regular communication with workers in their areas.

Deb said he would travel to districts, villages and booths and meet workers during his tenure as state in-charge. "I am a person of the organisation. I like sitting with, speaking to and learning from people in the organisation. I have also come here to learn," he said, adding that even booth-level workers had much to teach.

This comes a day after Deb's first meeting with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Core Group in MP. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, co-in-charge Rekha Verma, organisation general secretary Chandrashekhar Tiwari and other senior leaders.

At the Core Group meeting on Wednesday, discussions centred on strengthening the organisation and improving coordination between the government and the party organisation. The BJP is also preparing a constituency-level organisational review of the 66 Assembly seats it lost in the 2023 elections, besides identifying seats where it won by margins of 5,000 votes or less.

Party leaders said Deb's instructions on welcomes and publicity were linked to his broader emphasis on making the organisation more accessible to ordinary workers. His own programme during his first visit reflected this approach; rather than limiting his engagements to senior leaders, he visited the homes of booth-level workers, had lunch at the home of BJP worker Meena Jatav, and visited booth president Mukesh Gupta.

The BJP's organisational review of the 66 seats lost in 2023 is expected to examine the party's booth, mandal and Assembly-level structures and identify areas requiring greater organisational attention. The party is also looking at constituencies where it won by a narrow margin.