The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will now make a concerted effort to win back traders who had, once, formed the base of the party.
The BJP will be holding over a 100 trader conference in the country, 13 of which will be held in Uttar Pradesh.
The first trader conference, held in Lucknow over the weekend, was addressed by BJP president Rajnath Singh who promised to set up a traders’ commission if voted to power and also stall FDI in retail sector. Mr Singh said that his party had already informed the US and other foreign companies of its stand on FDI in retail.
Talking to this correspondent, the national convenor of the BJP’s trader cell Shyam Bihari Misra said that the advent of multi-national companies had spelt doom for small traders across the country.
“The policies of the UPA government have been heavily tilted in favour of big companies and MNCs as a result of which indigenous traders have been marginalised. The BJP has always supported small and petty traders and will continue to do so in future as well. Through these trader conferences, we will inform traders across the country that the BJP continues to support and protect their interests and if voted to power, will resolve their problems,” he explained.
Mr Misra further said that on one hand, the policies of the UPA government had destroyed the business community and, on the other, lawlessness and power shortage in the Samajwadi-ruled Uttar Pradesh had hit the traders like never before.
The traders, it may be recalled, formed the principal constituent of the BJP’s support base and the party was known to draw its financial strength from the trading community that liberally funded the party.
Over the years, as the focus shifted to big business houses and the BJP rose to power, it began to ignore small traders who also shifted their loyalties to other parties. Besides, the trader leaders also developed political affiliations with other parties and the trader community lost its collective strength.
“Trader leaders who changed parties at the drop of a hat have been exposed because their personal ambitions gained prominence over the interests of traders. We did not invite such leaders because they have lost credibility among the traders,” Mr Misra added.