#WhatTheFAQ: Why are four nominations to Rajya Sabha from the South? Is this BJP's step towards Mission South?  

With Assembly polls ahead, there is a change in strategies being adopted by the ruling NDA. What are its plans and how is it planning to go forward?
Pic: Edex Live
Pic: Edex Live

With the Rajya Sabha nominations doing the rounds, the BJP's focus on the South appears to be strong. Currently governing 17 states and one Union Territory, BJP is making headway in the Southern states which are ruled by their respective regional political parties. While the announcement of these nominations comes soon after the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Hyderabad on July 2 and 3, sources say, BJP has devised different strategies for different states to ensure victory in the next Assembly polls. 

The highlights of the NEC meeting in Hyderabad include the PM discussing the road map of the BJP in Southern states. It is said that PM instructed his cadre and MLAs to extend their support towards the Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. Additionally, besides Hindutva Nationalism, the party is also focussing on empowering minorities and tribal communities. If Murmu is elected, she will be the first tribal President of India. 

"Give us a chance for double engine sarkaar," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a public gathering at Parade Grounds, Secunderabad on July 3. All four PM's nominees for Rajya Sabha hail from Southern states: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. So, how is the BJP-South plan going to unfold and what are the reasons behind nominating Rajya Sabha members from the South? Here is #WhatTheFAQ to disclose all these details...

Who are the members nominated by PM?
The Prime Minister, on July 6, Wednesday, announced nominations to the Rajya Sabha. The four members nominated are V Vijayendra Prasad, Illayaraja, PT Usha and Veerendra Heggade. 

Father of Baahubali and RRR Director SS Rajamouli and a native of Andhra Pradesh, Vijendra Prasad has been a screenwriter for many Tollywood and Bollywood movies. 

The Maestro and Tamilian Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer and lyricist who is famously known as Raja. 

While PT Usha is a famous athlete from Kerala who is called the Queen of Indian track and field, and Veerendra Heggade is an Indian philanthropist and the hereditary Dharmadhikari (administrator) of the Dharmasthala Temple in Karnataka.

What is BJP trying to do?
As several states are heading towards conducting Assembly polls, the BJP is aiming to gain power in Southern states. The recent NEC meeting in Hyderabad can also be considered as one of their initial steps towards strengthening the party in these states for the elections ahead. It was reported that the PM discussed several strategies on how the road ahead for BJP is going to be.   

Why has the South become the main focus of the BJP?
BJP seems very adamant about bringing down the ruling party of Telangana, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Similarly, in Karnataka, it is hopeful of regaining its power. With Assembly elections ahead in both Karnataka and Telangana in 2022 and 2023, respectively, these states have become the prime focus of the party. 

The recent 2020 Dubbaka by-polls elections in Telangana gave a big boost to BJP and hence, the party is rearing to defeat Telangana CM K Chandrasekar Rao in the coming polls. While there has been a backlash for proposing to rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, the BJP seems confident in taking over Telangana in the next Assembly polls in 2023. In the recent NEC meeting, the message given by the PM was loud and clear as he asked the people to, "Give us one chance". 

As per a report by The Quint, "BJP Aims for ‘One Nation Under Hindutva’ Push in South." Although BJP has increased its vote share between the 2014-2018 polls, it is slowly making inroads into Southern states with different strategies. Talking about BJP's focus in different states, a senior BJP leader said Christians in Kerala will be BJP's main focus while the PM also pushed for outreach towards religious minorities and historically marginalised sections including Dalits and Adivasis.

The YSRC party led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh has been friendly with the Centre. With this on one side, the BJP aims to work on increasing its vote share in AP. In Tamil Nadu, which is always governed by either DMK and AIADMK, the state's National President K Annamalai said that the BJP will support AIADMK. 

Moving forward, what is BJP's agenda?
With the BJP's current moves, the BJP is trying to prove that it is a party that bats for inclusivity for all communities and everyone. Though the main agenda is Hindutva Nationalism, the party is also slowly focusing on tribal communities and minorities. All this comes as a precursor to the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan in November-December 2023. Special focus also can be on Odisha which is a non-BJP ruled state and it is from here the Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is nominated. 

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