BJP’s “400-paar” Ambition

AS WE HEAD Into the penultimate stage of the rather extended poll schedule, there is a palpable nervousness in all political parties. Notwithstanding the bravado on the stump, most politicians are assailed by doubts about winnability. The proverbial hawa that propels nominees of one party in bulk over the winning line seems to have gone missing. It is a different matter even the most seasoned poll watchers discover that elusive wave after the vote-count.

Given that the English-language media in the national capital plays a disproportionately high role in setting the agenda as against its actual reach and circulation, early on in the campaign it sowed doubts about BJP’s “400-paar” ambition. Once BJP was persuaded to drop that lofty goal, its critics now went for the kill, incessantly questioning whether the incumbent will be able to even cross the halfway mark. They seemed eager to read the silence of the voter as anti-Modi.

Amidst the cacophony of the opposition charges, the voter may well have decided to keep his own counsel. This led the Modi-haters, of whom there is no shortage in the capital’s self-sustaining secular-liberal echo chamber, to see it as disinclination to vote for BJP. There can be no doubt that despite the progress made on multiple fronts from the honest delivery of welfare to the poor and the needy, faster pace of infrastructure development, user-friendly digitalisation of the economy, greater regulatory vigilance on the ever-expanding financial sector, record GST collections, to moderation of fiscal deficit despite the two-year Covid hiatus, etc, a lot more needs to be done.

The acknowledgement of the unfinished agenda comes from the next government’s 100-day to-do list made available by the outgoing regime recently. This also speaks of its confidence of coming back with added vigour and commitment to take the nation forward. Yet, the opposition was so blinded by its hatred of Modi that it viewed everything in the darkest of hues. Rahul Gandhi’s canard about the BJP government dumping the Constitution, abolishing SC/ST and OBC reservations, etc, was highly irresponsible. This was pure cloud cuckoo land talk, lacking even an iota of truth. The discerning voter was unlikely to fall for these and several other falsehoods heard on the stump.

Modi’s popularity was bound to override the sheer negativity of the opposition campaign. In the first-past-the-winning-post electoral system, the contest has acquired presidential overtones, which privilege the solitary popular leader in the race, guaranteeing him a huge headstart, especially when facing multiple challengers, each with influence confined to small geographies. Some of these provincial leaders after the polls are most likely to gravitate towards the new Modi government, leaving behind the detritus of the so-called I.N.D.I.A. bloc. We can already see the leaders of this amorphous group singly and collectively blaming EVMs, the Election Commission, even the voters for their defeat on the day after the results.

Self-introspection is foreign to them, they will most likely blame the victor for winning unfairly and undeservedly. Now, to the million-dollar question about the winning numbers of Modi. Anything between 300 to 330 seems a done deal.

On the other hand, Congress should count itself lucky if it bags a seat more than 75. Fear-mongering about Modi, painting him an ogre, vile untruths and baseless charges still do not answer voters’ question about his readiness to hold the reins of this vast and diverse nation. Rahul comes up well short when the voter considers the key question whether he is prime ministerial material. The truth is there is only one candidate for that job in the fray, and he is returning for a well-earned third term.

About The Author

Virendra Kapoor

Virendra Kapoor is a political commentator based in Delhi