Gujarat 2017: How Modi alone won it for the BJP

The high voltage elections of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh came to end after its results were published yesterday. The BJP has not only retained Gujarat with a clear majority, but also wrested Himachal from the Congress. In this article, I will focus on various X- factors which were present in the Gujarat polls and on how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electrifying campaigning in the last lap titled the scales for the BJP in the western state.

BATTLE FOR GUJARAT – THE VARIOUS FACTORS THAT HAUNTED THE BJP

The State BJP was left without an authoritative, second-rung leadership after the departure of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to the Centre in 2014. Both Anandiben Patel, the former Chief Minister as well as Vijay Rupani, the incumbent CM had proved incable to fill the huge void left by the Prime Minister Modi. Modi’s outstanding performance as Gujarat CM for more than 13 years has set the bar very high for the successors which proved too much for the BJP state leadership. This was evident in their failure to address the Patidar Agitation and the Una incidents which gave opposition a chance to play its divisive politics.

At the same time, Congress lost no time in roping up the forces like Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani to divide the Hindus on caste lines inorder to counter the BJP. This divisive politics unfortunately gained mileage from the misinformation campaign run by the left-liberals and the Lutyens media which wanted a weakened Modi.

It also was widely reported that the trading community was angry with the BJP for its decisions, namely demonetization and GST. The fight against black money and course correction for economy by a unified taxation system was misrepresented by the media as a poor economic policy. Hence, it was excepted the Congress would benefit from the discontent in the industrial belt for south and urban Gujarat.

MODI’S CAMPAIGN SAVED THE BJP.

Modi started the campaign on November 27 from Bhuj, located close to the Pakistan border. He addressed 34 rallies till December 11 which gained edge for the BJP overriding all other factors, concentrating on:-

·         Nationalism as the trump card.

Gujarat, being predominantly Hindu and located close to Pakistan is always vigilant about the national security. It was the factor that worked for the BJP when the people remembered the Indian Army’s surgical strikes in POK in the aftermath of Uri in comparison with the response to 26/11. The people were reminded about Modi’s strong leadership in concerns with the security of the state coupled with his handling of law and order in tenure as the Chief Minister. The Congress leaders’ meeting with the Pakistani officials and Pakistan’s alleged role in Gujarat elections caught the opposition on a stick wicket.

·         Gujarati Asmita – “Gujarati pride”

The Gujaratis are always proud about the fact that the incumbent Prime Minister of India hails from their state. The Mani Shankar Aiyar’s comment about Modi, hurting the Gujarati honour has backfied for the Congress. The Prime Minister lost no chance in snatching the opportunity, turning it into a referendum for his leadership.

·        Modi’s developmental Agenda

Prime Minister Modi commands respect and popularity among all sections of voters for his track record as the Chief Minister and now as the Prime Minister. People, who even don’t like the BJP cherish Modi’s pet schemes which made Gujarat a developmental model which could be replicated throughout India. People also feared a Congress comeback would turned the clock back to 1980s when anarchy was prevalent due to caste conflicts in the state.

CONCLUSION

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in single handed manner have snatched the narrative from the opposition to see that BJP sailed past the finishing line quite comfortably in the end. This underlines the fact that the PM is the most potent weapon available for the party. Nationalism, Gujarati Asmita and developmental record has helped Modi, but BJP must be more careful when it approaches 2019. It has to ready itself to set the narrative rather than allowing the opposition to do so. Only then, it would emerge triumphant out of the vicious cycle of divisive politics played by the “sickular” parties.