Choose between Nehru and MODI-RSS: BJP to voters
Ato power under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, they started saying that BJP’S right wing voters would never exceed 10%-15% in the country.
In 2014, with 31% vote share on its own and 17 crore-voter support, BJP’S aim was to consolidate the Hindu voter base without losing time. The mission has been messy—cow politics in UP, for example— and even violent sometimes— cases of lynching of Muslims in Hindi-speaking states. But in these turbulent times, Shah has brought about a transformation to the BJP that no previous party president was able to. He has created a permanent infrastructure and systems to spread information and create awareness of the BJP ideology. He has reset BJP’S assets all over India and has increased manpower in all the districts. He has reshuffled the leadership-base in districts like never before. In doing so he has created within the party a huge distance between Modi’s power base and that of the rest of BJP leaders. In the process, Shah has taken a firm grip of the mammoth party structure that will be made available in Modi’s support—maybe only in Modi’s support—during and post the 2019 elections.
That should explain why, while addressing the allimportant National Convention at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday, Amit Shah spoke of the third Battle of Panipat fought between the Marathas and Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan in 1761. He said, “Kuch yudh aise hote hai jo sadiyon tak asar chodte hai (some battles leave an impact for centuries).”
Soon after the defeat in the Assembly elections in the three Hindi heartland states, Shah had given an important speech to all office bearers on 13 December in Delhi. Then too he had mentioned the Battle of Panipat and had emphasised that 2019 would be a battle of ideologies. Nothing more, nothing less. He added that “Aaj aisi hi sthiti hai (2019 resembles the situation that was created during the Battle of Panipat).”
This should not only explain BJP’S desperation and panic, but also its passion and conviction to fight the 2019 elections. As a BJP office bearer claims, “Amit Bhai believes it took 67 years for the RSS ideology to get an absolute majority, as in 2014; but if we lose in 2019, then it will be a tremendous setback for seven decades of our work. It will take us another couple of decades to regain the thumping support for our ideology through the ballot box.”
At the BJP event in Ramlila Maidan, Arun Jaitley unfolded a five-point action plan for the party’s saffron army. He further elaborated on what the 2019 battle was all about. The leadership of Modi, the NDA government’s performance, the national narrative on issues such as GST and last-mile-development, emotional appeal on issues such as Sabarimala and cow politics to Ram temple and alliance partners within the NDA fold will decide BJP’S strategy.
In UP, BJP’S Panipat, Congress is seen as a vote katwa (vote cutter) party by all. It will cut into BJP’S Brahmin votes, but the BJP thinks that Congress will also cut into the Muslim votes of SP-BSP, more than their Brahmin votes. Up-based BJP leaders claim that it is possible that the Congress will be offered some seats by the SP-BSP by the end of February if they find BJP’S Hindutva narrative is not resonating on the ground. SP-BSP’S seat-sharing may not be final, yet. By going for a historic alliance, Mayawati (fighting only 38 seats) and Akhilesh (38) have given hopes to Mamata Banerjee (fighting 42 seats) by accident. Banerjee wants to emerge as the biggest party after Congress in the non-bjp space.
BJP top sources claim that they have completed their homework and three to four big ticket announcements and the Kumbh Mela event will change the narrative by the end of February.
Their internal pan-india survey conducted on more than 5 lakh voters is ready. Around 70 sitting MPS are being alerted that they would either be axed or given different seats or positions ahead of the elections.
When asked if BJP was “looking at 2019 nervously”, a senior leader said, “for us, the battle is not only about winning seats. It’s about ideology. Only Modi and Mandir enthuse our cadre. Nehruvian Delhi will be defeated in this round, finally.”
This explains why Congress is after all important in this historic mission of Modishah.
Let’s wait and see who wins. Nehru or Modi?