NEW DELHI: The BJP sought to dismiss Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the top party post as a non-event. Yet, the party is bracing up for heightened politics of confrontation in the coming months.
With Rahul at the helm of affairs in the Congress, the BJP is wary of the prospect of poor constituencies drifting away if the Modi government does not deliver on its tall promises, made during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
“Even when Rahul was Congress vice-president, he was the de facto head of the party. It’s just because the Congress wanted a sense of satisfaction that the formality of election is being held,” BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha told The New Indian Express.
Though BJP leaders believe Rahul is no match to the stature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they privately admit that his “suit boot ki sarkar” jibe had hit the NDA government hard. They fear that the Gandhi scion’s consistent pro-poor pitch could halt the BJP’s victory march.“Of late, Rahul has shown keenness to engage with the people and he has sought to touch upon areas where the government has left gaps.If he continues to spend more time with the people, he can emerge as a tough challenger by the time we go to the general elections,” a senior BJP leader said.
On September 25, 2016, the BJP had adopted the Garib Kalyan Agenda at its National Council meeting in Kozikode. Since then, it has strategically been working to consolidate the party’s base among the poor. “The Congress’ traditional vote base has been the poor, into the BJP sought to make inroads. While the party has largely been successful, agrarian and rural distress along with job crunch, have created are trouble spots for the BJP,” said a BJP functionary.
However, BJP leaders state that the Congress leader has a daunting task ahead of him before he emerges as challenger to Modi.“Rahul Gandhi will need to work on his organisation, which has been depleted to a great extent. The BJP, in contrast, is working every day to expand the party base. The party is confident that the party’s organisational strength will cover any gaps which the government leaves,” the BJP leader said.