BJP's 2024 approach: Political merit over cachet

From the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) perspective, in the past, the marquee seats that commanded the party's time, energy, and resources were those contested by its cherished leaders Lucknow (Atal Bihari Vajpayee), Gandhinagar (LKAdvani), Vidisha (Sushma Swaraj), Varanasi (Narendra Modi), and Gorakhpur (Yogi Adityanath).

- RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

Or seats which the BJP was determined to wrest from the Opposition-Amethi (Rahul Gandhi), Chhindwara (Kamal Nath), and Azamgarh (Akhilesh Yadav).

In the 2024 elections, it is not necessarily about investing in high-profile candidates - at least candidates who have not acquired the cachet so far but rather about making a politically significant point to the Opposition wherever a non-BJP entity has had an advantage so far.

Of course, not all seats fall into this category. Some have been cherrypicked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.

What are some of these constituencies, and who are the candidates?

REKHA PATRA

At 31, Rekha Patra is the BJP's nominee from Basirhat in West Bengal, pitted against Haji Nurul Islam of the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC), who replaced actor Nusrat Jahan. The BJP imbued Rekha with high symbolism because she was among the women of Sandeshkhali village who led the protests against the sexual harassment of women and land usurpation by TMC muscleman Sheikh Shahjahan, who is now suspended from the party.

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi phoned her to say she was "Shakti Swaroopa" (manifestation of power), invoking images associated with Goddess Durga.

AMRITA ROY