NEW DELHI: THE BJP’s bid to project party mascot Narendra Modi as India’s greatest Prime Minister since Independence is likely to get a sense of history with the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from midnight.
Within the party, the rollout of the GST is being seen as a double-edged sword, one that may wound the saffron outfit if glitches persist and pains compound, though the other side may slay political opponents who risk being branded obstacles to India’s biggest tax reform measure.
The electoral juggernaut of the BJP hinges on the party’s relentless pursuit to project Modi as a fearless and decisive leader who takes tough decisions, besides “Garib Kalyan” (welfare of the poor) at the core of government’s priorities. The GST rollout remains in line with the saffron outfit’s successful electoral strategy.
“That the larger Opposition has boycotted the grand function to mark the rollout of the GST leaves the whole ownership of the biggest tax reform with the NDA government at the Centre. Pain or gain, it will be all for the BJP, and the party is taking all measures to ensure that the brickbats remain only for a few days,” said a senior BJP functionary.
The idea that the Congress exploited the historical legacy of Independence for decades appears to have affected the BJP at a time the party leaders are making all attempts to project the rollout of the GST as India’s second Independence.