Go local is BJP election strategy

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign managers have discovered a truism, albeit not new: Assembly elections are won on local issues and the voter is more concerned about the state of his backyard than the subtle nuances of foreign policy victories in a far off country.

The party has prepared dossiers on Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand, the states that go to polls next month.

Says the BJP media cell convener and prime mover behind the dossiers, Siddharth Nath Singh: "The necessity for such a document becomes even more urgent when big national leaders hit the campaign trail."

"For national leaders, these are important talking points about places and issues they may not have a complete grasp of. A sort of primer which ensures that all leaders speak with one voice on the same issue," he said.

A study of past campaigns had made the dossier an advisable accessory during electioneering.

"This helps avoid faux pas like talking of Indo-Pak ties in an area where the issue is lack of drinking water. With this, the leader will know what the real issues are for voters," he adds.

Among the issues the Bihar dossier lists are criminalisation, Lalu's performance, scams and corruption. These sub-sections give instances complete with press clippings, besides outlining local nuances that can be added to give a better picture.

In the social justice section, for example, the Bihar government's bad record in stemming caste violence is sought to be demonstrated by citing instances of carnage.

The slaying of 59 Dalits by the Ranvir Sena in Jehanabad on December 1997 is one such example.

The dossier also mentions that a charge-sheet is yet to be filed in the case against the six main accused.

The intricacies of the fodder scam and a detailed section on political and social analyses of the state is also appended.

With the BJP planning a blitzkrieg of national leaders ""including "big picture, few details" men like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, party chief LK Advani ""on the campaign trail from January 23, the dossier or "primer of issues" should come in handy.