Ahead of 2019 LS polls, BJP revives Mission 123

New Delhi, Jan 1: Stung by the electoral defeats in the Hindi heartland, the BJP is gearing up to face the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The campaign would be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will tour at least 20 states. The prime focus would be the BJP's Mission 123. These are the 123 seats that the BJP contested but did not win in 2014, despite a Modi wave.

Modi would visit these states which comprise the 123 seats and interact with the public.

There would also be government programmes that he would attend in these states. West Bengal, Assam and Odisha are among these states, which account for 77 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP hold 10 seats in these states.

The BJP's youth wing led by Poonam Mahajan has been given a 14 point programme, which would be aimed at winning over the new or first time voters. In this regard a programme called Nation with NaMo would be launched from January 12 onwards. This is aimed at forming a volunteer network in a bid to tap into the new voters.

This programme would also use the slogan called Pehla vote Modi (first vote to Modi) and the same would also begin from January 12 onwards.

The revival of Mission 123 was visible last week when Modi was in Odisha to inaugurate a new Indian Institute of Technology campus. This was followed by a speech at a rally in Khurda. From there he headed to Assam on December 25 to inaugurate India's longest rail cum road bridge over the Brahmaputra river. He would be back in Assam on January 4. The BJP has set itself a target to win 11 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats here.

On January 5, Modi would return to Odisha and address a rally in Mayurbhanj. He is also expected to make another visit on January 15.