Elections 2019: How spate of entrants in the BJP will impact its prospects

With the entry of footloose politicians from other parties, the BJP projects itself as the most attractive political option

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems convinced that the rush of entrants — prominent and low-profile — in the party over the past few weeks is a marker of the upper hand it holds over the Congress and the Opposition in the Lok Sabha polls. Defections and departures are normal before an election because it is not as though the Congress and other parties have not seen turncoats gravitating in search of tickets. 

However, since 1996-- when the BJP began its independent ascent towards power in the Centre –it sought to beam larger signals through the political arch over rather than