Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda has written to party workers across the country to make themselves more visible in their activities in dealing with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, NDTV reported on Sunday.

The party leaders were asked to step up activities to ensure delivery of medicines, availability of hospital beds and ramping up of healthcare infrastructure, according to The Indian Express. The decision was taken after the party noted that it was facing criticism for being missing in action during the second wave of the pandemic.

In his letter, Nadda also asked chief ministers of BJP-ruled states to draft and implement a policy for supporting children who lost both their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic, by May 30, to mark the seventh anniversary of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, PTI reported. Nadda has also mentioned that no public functions will be held to mark the anniversary.

Meanwhile, on Sunday one of BJP’s outreach programme drew criticism from social media users after Delhi unit President Adesh Gupta posted a photo saying he was handing over food items under the party’s “seva hi sangathan” initiative.

However, social media users pointed out that he was actually handing over packets of chips.

Over the last couple of months, the Narendra Modi-led government and several BJP-ruled states have faced criticism for their handling of the Covid-19 situation.

A recent survey by psephology agency CVoter revealed that only 37% of respondents said they were “very much satisfied” with Modi’s governance. This was a significant drop from the 65% recorded in 2020.

According to the United States-based agency Morning Consult, which tracks several world leaders, Modi’s overall popularity last week stood at 63% and those disapproving of Modi was at 31%.

Even BJP MLAs and central ministers have flagged shortcomings in the handling of the pandemic on more than one occasion. The party also failed to put up a strong show in the recent Assembly elections as it failed to match its own expectations in any of the four major states, apart from Assam. In West Bengal, the most keenly watched contest, BJP could muster up only 77 seats, even as throughout its campaign, the party had pinned hopes to win more than 200 seats.

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Amid Covid crisis, Modi’s popularity rating drops to a new low for first time in 7 years: Report