The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has collected information on Hindu temples, priests and mutts in Madhya Pradesh as the state gears up for the Assembly elections, PTI reported on Saturday. The party has not specified what it plans to do with the data.
The BJP reportedly started the survey after an opinion poll in August indicated a bleak result for the party in the election. “Yes, we have collected data on temples and mutts, along with their priests and ascetics,” state BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said. He added that the party used booth-level teams to compile data on activists, social organisations and influential people in the state.
“We will neither disclose when we will contact them nor our strategy in this regard,” Agrawal said.
On August 6, The Times of India reported that the party had initiated a similar exercise in Uttar Pradesh. The party had sought to know the names of the institutions, the priests and their contact numbers, the report said. The survey also sought details of Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Caste communities in the area. The programme was reportedly started to help the party win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
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