BJP’S tryst with destiny under Narendra Modi

 

 The choice of Modi has actually set in motion a change in the social dynamics that promises to completely restructure the BJP. Undoubtedly his social profile got a tremendous boost after the Congress mea culpa when it dismissively referred to Modi as a chaiwallah (tea seller)—exactly the reason that Modi went through an elaborate ritual of getting a genuine tea vendor to publicly endorse his candidacy from Vadodara constituency last week.

The symbolism may be wasted on us, but not on the classes it is aimed at, especially in the battleground states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. 

 

Together, they elect 120 members of Parliament and significantly influence government formation at the Centre. More so in the case of the BJP, whose electoral footprint is largely restricted to northern India.

 

Modi’s pursuit of power has been driven solely by the winnability of a candidate—exactly why he has unceremoniously jettisoned hitherto heavyweights in the party. In Uttar Pradesh, he was quick to realize that this was not possible without playing the caste card and tapping the OBC vote. At the moment, the SP has a stranglehold over this vote base. Not only does it command the Yadav vote, it has also successfully lured the non-Yadav OBCs to its fold through incentives.

 

The BJP under Modi plans to alter this electoral arithmetic. Besides playing up Modi’s OBC credentials, it has followed through and given 30 OBCs BJP tickets in this general election. In the last general election it was 13, implying a more than twofold jump.

 

It is a big gamble. But then if the challengers outside the traditional leadership had to attempt such structural change, then this had to be the moment. The political momentum, given the visible implosion of the Congress, both in government and in the campaign, is with the BJP, and Modi, with his message of aspirations, seems to be capturing the imagination of the people.

 

The communal polarization in the aftermath of the riots in western Uttar Pradesh that displaced over 50,000 people, mostly Muslims, is also working to the BJP’s advantage. The high turnout in western Uttar Pradesh, which went to the polls last week, only reinforces these perceptions. We will have to wait and see how this trend endures in the rest of the state. It will be interesting to see what happens to this experiment if Modi is unable to inspire the BJP to the win that opinion polls seem to be projecting.

 

RANJAY KUMAR,

PGDM 2nd  SEM,

SOURCE-: MINT