The manner in which the BJP has established its presence demonstrates how much popular faith it has won in the past three years of its tenure at the centre. An ordinary tea boy, once selling tea on platforms has become the dynamic and successful Prime Minister of this country. It shows there is no short cut to achieve success. “Diamond shines more when it is rubbed”.
Modi’s oratory skills and high-tech campaign have made him a solid favourite. Today he remains the most polarizing figure in the Indian politics. The last three years of the Modi government have blazed with romanticizing the Army and its soldiers, flexing the military muscle of “strong” government and State, pulverizing anyone who dares to question it, on television screens, social media or in public discourse.
Three years of Modi government will be mostly remembered for the demonetization shock, but it also witnessed an increase in digitization of payments, continued rollout of Jan Dhan, the passing of many critical laws, including Goods and Services Tax (GST). It is perhaps in this respect that the BJP’s greater success during the past three years might be worth noting.
The government has scored high ratings included foreign policy issues such as its handling of Pakistan and India’s global influence. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party by emerging victorious, after 20 years. On ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ BJP is making a deeper dent. Besides defeating the Congress in the arena of competitive politics, it implied that a different public discourse and diverse national political identity would emerge as dominant.
Modi has offered the image of clean backward class person from modest background to question the mighty dynasty and has offered the organizational support to project himself before the masses. His image is as one of the greatest PM in the world who made politics so interesting and who single handedly dismantled Congress and all other pseudo-secular parties. Modi Government has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. In addition, Modi has not only held on to the party’s social base but managed to attract a large number of voters from other communities. There was an unparalleled consolidation of upper castes and middle classes behind the BJP.
He has the passion for development; the passion for an invigorated states; the passion for the uplifting the living standards of the people in India and the joy with which he recounted simple yet memorable data-points is appreciated by every citizen of India. BJP’s massive victory in every phase clearly indicates that the electorate is rewarding good governance instead. Modi took pains to get a record break election where people had voted across caste, class, region and religion to unseat the Congress and bring in the BJP-led NDA government. This watershed moment in Indian politics catapults India on a takeoff path under the strong leadership of one individual who gave wings to the hope, aspirations and dreams of millions.
Being a strong speaker, in the past few months he has been transformed into a hugely popular, even cult figure for many around India and is now widely admired by many who do not share his Hindu nationalism. Modi is a fighter and a decisive leader. It is time for India to move ahead and see off the Congress Party, which has ruled for most of the time since independence and yet has not got rid of abject poverty nor provided decent education, infrastructure and dignity to most Indians. The BJP has a very tough road ahead – the sooner it hits the ground running the better. Modi’s tenure as the PM promises to be even more challenging and it is now expected that he puts the politician behind and allows the statesman to rise like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
