Kolkata, Nov 14 — The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to conduct an Assembly constituency-wise assessment of the impact of the nationwide movement launched by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Opposition parties against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The party's state leadership has drawn up a plan to deploy special review teams in all 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. Each team will interact with at least 200 people representing different financial, professional, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds to gauge public opinion on the anti-SIR campaign.
Apart from assessing the public response to the nationwide protests, the teams will also undertake a counter-campaign to present the BJP's position on the electoral roll revision and counter the arguments being raised by the CJP and opposition parties.
"The CJP-Opposition ploy to create chaos and anarchy in the country will be exposed before the general public through leaflets and arguments. This exercise will be an extension of the recent 'Save Democracy, Eliminate Anarchy' rallies organised in different parts of the state against the anti-SIR movement," a member of the BJP's state committee said.
According to the party leader, the exercise will be conducted in several stages. In the first phase, the teams will identify at least 200 individuals in each Assembly constituency, ensuring representation from different economic, professional, social, ethnic and religious groups.
In the next phase, members of the teams will visit the identified individuals at their homes and interact with them. Initially, they will focus on listening to their views on the nationwide anti-SIR campaign without attempting to influence their opinions.
"Only after listening to their concerns and understanding their perceptions will the team members initiate the counter-campaign by explaining the party's position on the issue," the BJP leader said.
The outreach programme will cover people from different walks of life, including workers, farmers, lawyers, teachers, doctors and other professionals. The party also intends to engage representatives of various communities and local opinion makers to obtain a wider understanding of public sentiment.
The BJP leadership plans to compile the feedback gathered from all 294 Assembly constituencies into a comprehensive report and forward it to the party's central leadership.
The exercise is expected to help the party assess the extent to which the opposition's campaign against the SIR has influenced public opinion in West Bengal and formulate its political response accordingly.