The BJP is stepping up its outreach to Gen Z and young voters, with the party planning to engage directly with them to understand their views, concerns and expectations. A special team for the proposed ‘Yuva Samvad’initiative has been formed as part of the party’s wider organisational and electoral preparations.
The team includes BJP president Nitin Nabin, national general secretaries Smriti Irani and Vinod Tawde, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Chhattisgarh minister OP Choudhary. The initiative is expected to provide a platform for direct interaction with young people and help the party assess issues that matter to the younger generation.
The development comes as the BJP works to strengthen its grassroots organisation ahead of upcoming Assembly elections. The party's newly constituted 65-member national team held its first meeting at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday under Nitin Nabin’s chairmanship. Discussions focused on preparations for forthcoming elections, strengthening booth-level organisation and improving the outreach of government welfare schemes.
According to media reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also meet members of the newly formed national team at the BJP headquarters on Saturday evening. Nabin had announced the new national team on August 17, around 209 days after taking charge as BJP president.
51 New Faces In Team
The BJP's new 65-member national team has 51 new faces, including 13 national vice presidents and eight national general secretaries. The party has also increased representation from states that are scheduled to hold Assembly elections next year.
A total of 18 leaders from four such states have been included in the national team. Uttar Pradesh has the highest representation with eight leaders, followed by Uttarakhand and Gujarat with four each, while Punjab has two representatives.
Former Union minister Smriti Irani and BJP leader Ram Madhav have also returned to the party's national team. Several senior leaders, including Vasundhara Raje, Baijayant Panda and Tirath Singh Rawat, have been given key organisational responsibilities.
Piyush Goyal will continue as the party's national treasurer, while B.L. Santosh has been retained as national organisation general secretary. Deepak Mhaske has been appointed to head the BJP's IT cell, replacing Amit Malviya.
12 Women Included
The new national team includes 12 women leaders. Vasundhara Raje, D. Purandeshwari, Rekha Verma, Varshaben Doshi, Dr Bharati Pawar and Dr Madhuchandra Kar have been appointed national vice presidents.
Smriti Irani has been appointed national general secretary, while Kavita Patidar, Phangnon Konyak and Sangeeta Yadav have been given national secretary positions.
Uttar Pradesh has the highest representation among women leaders, with three members, followed by Maharashtra with two. Other states have one woman representative each.
Focus On Young Voters
The proposed Yuva Samvad initiative signals the BJP's effort to establish a more direct connection with Gen Z, a voter group with distinct expectations around employment, education, technology, social issues and opportunities.
The initiative is expected to involve direct interactions with young people and could become part of the BJP's broader outreach strategy ahead of upcoming elections. At the same time, the party's new national team will continue to concentrate on booth-level organisation and taking government schemes and policies to voters at the grassroots.
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