Ministers and senior leaders have been asked to deliver 4 seats each, and is also concentrating on the 113 seats that the party came second or performed impressively in the last elections. Apart from that, BJP is putting lot more emphasis on states where they don’t win seats. Although, making its presence felt in states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala is not going to be easy for BJP but the way things are panning out and the kind of effort they are putting in, there performance is surely going to improve. And that is where, the whole task of getting 350 seats may feel like a bit too much, but as you go deeper into the methodologies and the current scenario, its achievable for BJP, Reports Vipin Agnihotri in Governance Democracy&Politics (GDP), October Issue
In Indian political circle, ‘Mission 350’ is the new phenomenon that is going to be the talk of the town until and unless we get to know the final outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. As is the case with any event, there are different point of views. Many thinks that Mission 350 is going to be a walk in the park, especially with such a solid performance of BJP from one state to another. And when you add this up with the fact that there is nothing going right for the Congress, it seems like a correct judgement. But before you get into any conclusion, lets also take a closer look at the other side of the coin as well. No doubt, BJP is very performing very well, but the impact of demonetisation is now being felt in a negative way and maintaining same sort of momentum in highly volatile states like UP, Bihar and Maharashtra is not a mean task by any way.
Why Mission 350 is possible?
Mission 350 is possible because BJP bandwagon is going real good and if you add this up with the organizational structure they possess right now, there is no stopping them. Another significant factor to note of is the combination of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. While Narendra Modi is the face of the party, what goes on behind the scenes is carried out by Amit Shah. And what a marvelous job he is doing. Despite of achieving so much, he still has a hunger to go one better. He does not take things casually.
As a matter of fact, acting pretty much like a Sachin Tendulkar of cricket, once his objective is complete, he move on to a new agenda in a very seamless way, with same passion and confidence. And most importantly, he talks sense. “We have not come to power for 5-10 years, but at least 50 years. We should move forward with a conviction that in 40-50 years we have to bring major changes in the country through the medium of power,” said Amit Shah recently. This statement alone depicts the psyche of BJP as a party.
Coming to Narendra Modi now, his popularity is not diminishing as well. You may say that he has no competitor in sight but that’s not his problem. Congress as a party is going through a rough patch and until and unless something drastic happens, such as elevation of Priyanka Gandhi within the party, there is nothing positive to report. Politics is all about momentum and surely that is not on the Congress side. They should have use Ahmed Patel victory as a catalyst in order to gain momentum, but they failed miserably.
And now BJP has move on with that defeat and are once again charging like a tiger. To make Mission 350 possible, party has already started handing out duties. Ministers and senior leaders have been asked to deliver 4 seats each, and is also concentrating on the 113 seats that the party came second or performed impressively in the last elections. Apart from that, BJP is putting lot more emphasis on states where they don’t win seats. Although, making its presence felt in states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala is not going to be easy for BJP but the way things are panning out and the kind of effort they are putting in, there performance is surely going to improve. And that is where, the whole task of getting 350 seats may feel like a bit too much, but as you go deeper into the methodologies and the current scenario, its achievable for BJP.
Invincibility Of Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked invincible till last week in BJP’s march towards Mission 350, despite jobless growth after demonetisation, increasing criticism of vigilantes on the prowl, and mounting agrarian distress. Following mayhem in Haryana the quicksands of political calculations can turn brutal for BJP if the opposition succeeds in upping the ante. With opposition not able to capitalise on the cracks in incumbency up till now, the judiciary filled in that vacuum in the Ram Rahim aftermath by chiding the Haryana CM for being lax only “to allure the vote bank”. Modi’s ‘New India’ cannot be built on a political model of overlapping religion and state.
While you are on top of the ladder, you can ignore such things but it can get ugly in no time. And that is where Narendra Modi needs to buckle up and be authoritative in his approach otherwise all his good work can go haywire. One needs to realize that either politicians live for their country, or they live off their country. Clearly Modi’s brand of politics adhered to the former in freeing India of those that fed off the system. However multiple issues derailed that noble intent, as the efficient functioning of the Modi-Shah diarchy has extended BJP’s appeal to newer vote banks. Moreover, manufactured perceptions are in utter disconnect from ground realities where 73% of corporates are averse to hiring, job creation is sub-optimal and private investment tepid, and farmer suicides at 31 a day.
How then is Modi’s popularity surging? Thus far one can say that it’s been a choreographed projection by the Modi-Shah-RSS trinity that has marketed its 108 socio-economic programmes well, when little has changed on the ground. Should the economic rebound not happen by next year, merely weeding out corruption will be seen as inadequate and an intangible goal, as opposed to quantifiable achievements like jobs and enhanced income in hand. Farm loan waivers, NPAs of banks and provisioning for big-bang welfare schemes close to election time will be a cumulative drain on the exchequer, deferring economic recovery. Simply put, Narendra Modi invincibility is going to be tested.
