Hyderabad: The charchas that served Prime Minister Narendra Modi well during the 2014 elections are back. This time, the series is called Nashte pe Charcha, the first edition of which was hosted at Ward No. 2 of Secunderabad Cantonment by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday. Idli and vada were served with chai, and over 100 residents turned up.
Participants were briefed about the various Central government schemes requiring enrolment, which may indirectly help increase support for the BJP in the Cantonment. Aspiring legislators are scheduled to organise Charchas twice a week in two localities in each of the eight Cantonment wards, starting May 1.
The first edition was held at CBN Nagar, Rasoolpura, and drew a mix of youth and senior citizens, mostly men. Shyam Kishore, 22, of Jagadishnagar colony, who enrolled for the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana scheme said, “I need funds to start a garment business, and I am told I can get up to '5 lakh without collateral security.” Senior citizen Devender Rao said, “I do not have health insurance or an Aarogyasri card, so I enrolled in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. I will vote for BJP if I benefit.”
Apart from promoting Central government schemes and promoting enrolment, the party is also pushing its aspiring leaders to stay close to the ground and interact with potential voters.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, aspiring BJP MLA Jai Prakash said, “My party colleague P.M. Sai Prasad and I came up with this idea to meet people over a meal, hence Nashte pe Charcha. The idea is to inform people about the benefits of Atal Pension Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Ayushman Bharat and Ujjwala scheme and enrol them.”
The party is also training volunteers about the schemes, helping them reach out to more beneficiaries during the breakfast meets. Additionally, with rallies and sabhas in the offing, the BJP is clearly already in election mode unlike its rivals, who are yet to formalise their pre-election strategies, with less than a year to go for Assembly polls.
