BJP campaign 2019
Not just the rallies Prime Minister Modi has started addressing, beginning with Punjab, then UP, on to West Bengal and Karnataka, choosing the states and venues carefully—all bastions of regional parties, take Azamgarh in UP, or Jangal Mahal in Bengal. Modi-Shah’s crack team has the first campaign video for 2019 ready. From ‘Achhe din’, the slogan has gone to ‘Achhe kaam’ of Modi Government. The comparison, needless to say, is with the Congress ‘rule’—the “70 years” versus five years of Modi Sakar—with the attendant jibe at the Congress triumvirate of Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh-Rahul Gandhi.
The transformation and emergence of ‘New India’ is what the video showcases, dirt roads to doubletier highways, bank accounts, toilets and cooking gas instead of wood-fire chulha (open oven), et al—PM Modi as a man of small reforms. It’s reminiscent of Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao slogan as a counter to the then Opposition’s ‘Indira hatao’ plank. The Modi-Shah strategy is clearly two-pronged, targeting regional heavyweights, state-wise, through public rallies. And, the Congress, at all levels.
What’s holding up CWC?
Meanwhile, the Congress is still in the mode of daily briefing. If the strategy for 2019 is being drawn up, it’s yet to come out of the closet. Just like the Congress Working Committee. It seems the reason why the formation of CWC—the highest decision-making body of the party—is held up, is because Rahul Gandhi’s yet to decide a formal role for two powerful veterans, AK Antony and Ahmed Patel. Patel is still the unofficial ‘political secretary’ to the former Congress chief, who continues to be the CPP leader and guardian of coalition-making. He has a behind-thescene role here. Not Antony. These names would be obviously part of the new CWC, but that many believe can’t be their only role, since the working committee party hardly ever meets.
Jio: An institute of eminence
The HRD Ministry’s expert panel headed by former CEC N Gopalaswami has handed the Opposition and the media with masala on a platter. The selection of the still non-existent Jio Institute of higher learning as one of “pre-eminence” has not only created headlines across the country, but also resulted in a surfeit of jokes on social media on what kind of courses they will teach -- “jiology, jiogetry, jiornalism,” among them.
This could be the worst advertisement for a greenfield project. Interestingly, the Congress went a little soft in its criticism and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the party’s ace lawyercum- national spokesperson, lost no time to point out that many prominent worldclass universities, including Harvard, came up the same way!
Reading the tea leaves
South Korea is obviously betting big on Narendra Modi coming back to power in 2019. The world’s biggest factory of Samsung mobile hardware on 35 acres in NOIDA is one indication of how South Korea is giving a fond bear hug to the Modi government in an election year; take also the fact that President Moon Jae-in has invited PM Modi to Seoul in 2020.
Not everyone is as confident though. Many of the envoys residing on the two sides of Shanti Path have been holding lunches for small groups, particularly political commentators, to figure out which way the wind is blowing. One of the envoys quipped it’s better to read the tea leaves in advance. Another diplomat of an EU-member country was particularly worried about the fate of defence deals, whether those would go into deep freeze in case there’s a change of guard. The curiosity also extends to Rahul Gandhi and his future plans.
Rajya Sabha nominees
Of the four presidential nominees to Rajya Sabha, Luytens’ Delhi was abuzz on two, DU political science professor and RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra. How did Sinha get the nomination to Rajya Sabha and Ram Madhav miss it yet again? That Mamata Banerjee’s government had filed an FIR against Sinha may have helped him clinch the RS nomination.
As for the other prominent spokesperson of BJP, Sambit Patra, a Modi-Shah as well as Jaitley favourite, he is likely to be fielded for the Lok Sabha from his home state Odisha. As Mahapatra’s nomination shows, there’s little doubt that Odisha is one of Amit Shah’s focus states. He was one of those the BJP chief visited during his ‘Sampark se samarthan’ programme.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor,TNIE.
Email:santwana@newindianexpress.com