New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): As the Narendra Modi government is set to complete its second term in office at the Centre, with several months left before the 2024 general elections scheduled to be held in May this year, aiming to target 350-plus Lok Sabha seats.

The year 2024 is considered extremely crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the party wants to consolidate power right from winning elections at the panchayat level while marching towards the Parliament.

The BJP not only wants to form a government at the Centre with absolute majority for the third time by winning the 2024 general elections as it will send out a clear message that the people of India have clearly reposed their faith in the government at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, adding that there is no political alternative to counter the BJP's politics of development in the country.

After BJP comes back to power at the Centre by securing a third term in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party will create a new record in the country equalling that of the country's first Prime Minister and Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the PM for three consecutive terms by winning three consecutive Lok Sabha elections after India's independence in 1947. By coming back to power in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also equalise that record.

The BJP, which single-handedly won 303 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by securing nearly 38 per cent votes, has set a target of winning 350 plus seats in BJP has set a target of 350 plus seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. For this, the party is working on several fronts simultaneusly. If BJP alone achieves the target of 350 plus seats then together with NDA allies, its seat tally in the upcoming general elections will reach around 400.

BJP had started preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections more than a year ago to form its government at the Centre for the third consecutive term. On the one hand, the party is completely focusing on the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while on the other hand, it is also making special preparations on 160 "weak seats" in the country.

These 160 Lok Sabha seats include Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli, Akhilesh Yadav's family stronghold Mainpuri, Sharad Pawar's family stronghold Baramati, besides those seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and South India where the party has either lost or did not win in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Focusing on these 160 Lok Sabha seats, the saffron party has been running the 'Lok Sabha Migration Scheme' campaign for a long time by deploying its veteran Ministers and leaders in these parliamentary constituencies. Not only this, it has also been decided to deploy local party leaders on each Assembly seat in all these 160 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Nearly 1,000 seats of the state Assembly come under these 160 Lok Sabha constituencies. BJP had earlier decided that it would deploy observers even before the announcement of elections on 160 Lok Sabha seats of the country which were considered as "weak seats" for the BJP . Later its number kept increasing and now BJP is deploying observers on all 543 Lok Sabha seats of the country.

On the one hand, BJP is running the traditional means of campaigning i.e. directly connecting with the voters through campaigns like 'Lok Sabha Migration Scheme', 'Vistarak Yojana' and 'Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra' and is trying to reach out to people at the booth level. On the other hand, the saffron party is also making full use of modern means of communication like 'NaMo App' by setting up 'call centres' across the country.

As per BJP sources, the party may start announcing the names of its candidates even before the official announcement of Lok Sabha elections by the Election Commission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will consecrate the inauguration ceremony of Lord Ram at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

The first list of BJP's Lok Sabha candidates may be announced in January-end or the first week of February. BJP will also form the election manifesto and election campaign committee for the Lok Sabha elections soon in the new year.

BJP has also spelt clear its agenda for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that on one hand, the party will target the welfare scheme beneficiaries to highlight the achievements of the Modi government and its development agenda before the people, while on the other hand it will focus on Ayodhya temple.

On the other hand, the BJP, while addressing the opposition INDIA bloc as 'arrogant alliance' and 'INDI Alliance', will continuously focus on the issues of Sanatan Dharma, building of Ram temple, national security and corruption so that the voters, especially the youth, reach out to the saffron party.