Bhopal:

The ongoing selection process for BJP district presidents in Madhya Pradesh has turned into a heated political affair. Despite continuous meetings among senior leaders, a consensus on the names of district presidents remains elusive. Sources told NDTV that internal divisions and favouritism among senior party leaders have stalled the process, with some even sidelining names suggested by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The political atmosphere at the BJP state office is anything but cold. Party workers in the state have expressed their views on the selection process and the deadlock has escalated, prompting several senior leaders to camp in Delhi to resolve the impasse.

BJP State General Secretary Bhagwan Das Sabnani, emphasized the adherence to guidelines, saying, “The process of selection of district presidents is going on in the BJP state organization. District presidents will be selected as per all guidelines now.”

Amid deliberations, fake lists and hoardings have gone viral, adding to the confusion. Former minister Gopal Bhargava urged party workers and leaders to exercise patience. “Everything will be clear after the meeting in a day or two. One waits, and the fruit of waiting is sweet,” he said.

Sources reveal that a key criteria being considered for finalizing district presidents — Presidents who have been in office for over four years will not be repeated. Those serving for less than 1.5 years may get a second chance. Candidates with no opposition will be prioritized. A panel of three names will be shortlisted based on merit, with a special focus on women and SC-ST representation, with 12-16 women likely to be appointed among the 60 organizational districts.

The Congress has criticized the BJP’s selection process, alleging it lacks transparency. Congress leader Bhupendra Gupta claimed, “Claims are made to conduct the most democratic elections, but slips are being sought. Names have already been decided; the district president will be selected based on these slips.”

The selection process faces further delays in major cities like Bhopal, Jabalpur, Indore, and Gwalior due to unresolved disagreements. The names of these crucial districts remain on hold as senior leaders struggle to reach a consensus.

The BJP has appointed its first-ever “WhatsApp Pramukh” in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal. Ramkumar Chaurasia, an MSc graduate, has been entrusted with the role, of using WhatsApp to connect with the masses and disseminate information about government schemes.  

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Chaurasia expressed his enthusiasm for the role: “This responsibility has been entrusted to connect the common people in maximum numbers and to reach the government schemes to the people through WhatsApp. This experiment is happening for the first time in the state and will soon be implemented across the entire state.”

This initiative marks a first for Madhya Pradesh and is part of a broader effort to establish a comprehensive digital network across all 65,015 booths in the state by November 20. BJP leaders believe these innovations will strengthen grassroots connections ahead of the upcoming state booth committee elections.

The appointment of WhatsApp Pramukhs is just one element of BJP’s revamped booth committee structure. The committees will have 12 members, including roles such as Booth President, Mann Ki Baat Pramukh, and Beneficiary Chief. Three of these members will be women. Archana Goswami, a former councillor from Kolar, became the first Booth President in the current elections. She said, “This time, our entire focus is on creating thousands of WhatsApp Pramukhs and Mann Ki Baat Pramukhs.”

State BJP President VD Sharma inaugurated the Booth Sangathan Parv at Ward-80’s booth in Bhopal by becoming the Panna Pramukh himself. “This is a proud moment. Our emphasis is on connecting every worker and voter through technology, ensuring transparent and effective communication,” Mr Sharma said.  

In a bid to streamline and digitise the election process, the BJP is employing an organisational app. After the selection of a Booth President, their details are immediately registered on the app, verified via OTP, and officially updated on the party’s portal. This system aims to reduce manual errors and ensure real-time updates of party structures.  

Elections at the Mandal and District levels will follow in December, with a focus on promoting members who performed well during the party’s membership drive.  

The introduction of posts like WhatsApp Pramukh and Mann Ki Baat Pramukh underlines BJP’s emphasis on leveraging social media and technology. These roles aim to disseminate party messages, increase participation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat program, and maintain direct contact with beneficiaries of government schemes.  

“This initiative ensures that every booth is a microcosm of BJP’s mission to connect with every citizen, especially women and youth, in a tech-savvy manner,” said Mr Sharma.  

Bhopal:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was at the centre of an exchange between the BJP and Congress in Madhya Pradesh today, as both the parties accused each other of “stealing” the theme song of Imran Khan’s party for their respective campaigns for upcoming assembly elections.

The ruling BJP claimed the Congress has “stolen” the theme song of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for its upcoming Jan Aakrosh Yatra campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress hit back, claiming the song of the Pakistani party was copied by Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister in Haryana’s BJP government, and similarly in Rajasthan (for the poll campaign).

The row erupted after MP BJP unit secretary Rahul Kothari alleged the Congress has copied “Chalo, Chalo Imran Ke Sath”, which he said is the theme song of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in its recently-released song “Chalo, Chalo Congress Ke Sang Chalo Chalo” for the Jan Aakrosh Yatra.

The Yatra is scheduled to set out from September 19 from seven places in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly elections are due in November this year.

The state BJP shared the video of the purported theme song of the Pakistan-based party along with the Congress’ poll campaign song on its official X account.

Till now, the Congress used to accept those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan and against Hindustan, Mr Kothari alleged. Now, Madhya Pradesh Congress is also borrowing songs from Pakistan, he alleged.

He claimed Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh was missing from the poster of Jan Ashirwad Yatra, “but he is giving the background music”.

“This is the height of appeasement. It won’t be a big deal if Congress flag soon turns completely green,” Mr Kothari said.

“Congress’ love for Pakistan came to the fore again. @INCMP stole the theme song of Imran Khan’s party of Pakistan for its campaign song in the Madhya Pradesh elections. Congress’s habit of ‘stealing’ is old but why so much love for Pakistan? Congress should answer,” the BJP posted on X.

State Congress media department chairman KK Mishra said, “Unfortunately, those who are friends of Pakistan are raising objections over the campaign song of Congress. Those who got Army personnel martyred to take electoral advantage objected to a song”.

Mr Mishra said the BJP might have forgotten who went to Pakistan without invitation and who had invited the neighbouring country’s prime minister for his oath ceremony.

MP Home Minister and senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra said the Congress has stolen the campaign song of its Jan Akrosh Yatra from Pakistan.

“The (erstwhile) Congress government had lost its credibility in the state because of the ‘Chalo Chalo’ jibe of Kamal Nath (MP Congress chief and ex-chief minister). The public is also going to tell ‘Chalo-Chalo’ to Congress in the assembly elections,” he alleged.

On the other hand, Mr Nath’s media advisor Piyush Babele accused the BJP of stealing the Pakistani party’s theme song during electioneering in Rajasthan and Haryana.

“The BJP’s only mantra is stealing without shame. The song of Pakistan’s Imran Khan has been copied by Dushyant Chautala, Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana’s BJP government. Film expert @drnarottammisra ji, listen to both the songs and tell from where do you get so much love for Pakistan,” Mr Babele posted on X account.

The Congress launched the “Chalo, Chalo…” song on September 17. The Yatra is expected to cover 11,400 kilometres across all 230 assembly segments in Madhya Pradesh in 15 days to highlight various issues like “corruption, unemployment, and crime against Dalits and women”, among others.

The BJP has already rolled out the Jan Ashirward Yatra’ to “seek the blessings of the people”. The Yatras, being taken out from various places, will culminate in Bhopal on September 25.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)