The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to adopt a decentralised and grassroots-driven approach to candidate selection and campaign planning for the upcoming elections in West Bengal, according to party
sources.
For the first time, the party has formally sought inputs from the district level for finalising candidates. Local district leaders have been asked to submit three names each for every constituency. Suggestions will come from Mandal Sabhapatis, district presidents, MLAs and MPs, ensuring that local organisational leadership has a direct role in the selection process.
Sources said the move reflects a conscious shift in the BJP’s campaign strategy this year, with a strong emphasis on micro-level outreach and decentralisation. The party leadership believes that one of the longstanding criticisms against the BJP in Bengal has been that grassroots workers and local leaders were not adequately consulted in decision-making. To address this, the leadership has decided to go directly to the ground and incorporate local feedback.
The process has already begun, with district leaders submitting shortlisted names to the state leadership. According to sources, the BJP will focus intensively on this exercise over the next 15 days.
The party’s micro-level planning is also evident in its campaign messaging and political strategy. BJP sources point to three key aspects that underline this approach. First, the party is evaluating each assembly constituency individually, rather than relying on broad statewide narratives.
Second, the BJP has prepared constituency-specific “chargesheets” targeting sitting Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs. These documents focus on alleged corruption and governance failures at the local level. The chargesheets claim to be based on documented, hyper-local evidence and detail alleged irregularities such as diversion of central funds under schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, instances of “cut-money” extortion, recruitment scams, breakdown of law and order, civic safety concerns and issues related to women’s safety. The BJP attributes these problems to what it describes as a “syndicate raj” involving TMC MLAs, MPs and local leaders. By releasing these chargesheets simultaneously across multiple constituencies, the party aims to project the election as a referendum on local accountability and governance rather than on rhetoric alone.
Third, the BJP’s manifesto preparation has also followed a decentralised model. The party has introduced suggestion boxes to collect inputs directly from citizens, allowing people to share their priorities and concerns at the local level. According to a senior BJP leader, the idea is to strengthen people’s representation and ensure that the manifesto reflects ground realities rather than top-down policy prescriptions.
Sources say this combined focus on grassroots participation, micro-level assessment and constituency-specific campaigning marks a significant shift in the BJP’s electoral strategy in West Bengal.
