‘A large number of people voted for the BJP in the states because of PM Modi and his pledges.’
NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held his first mass rally in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh in the run-up to the 2023 Assembly elections, had stated that there was only one face in the elections, that of the “lotus”. Lotus was the only hope, so BJP workers should work unitedly to make lotus bloom in the desert state. This clear message ended the discord within the BJP, while the Congress was engaged in disagreements. This clearly helped the BJP to win 115 seats out of 200 and increase its vote share. In the 2018 elections, the BJP’s vote share in the state was 38.77%, which went up to 41.69%. Congress’s vote share reached 39.30%. PM Modi’s rally in the state and his assurances could be the major reason for the BJP’s performance. The vote share of BSP got reduced by 2%, which directly benefited the BJP. In his rallies, PM Modi talked about the atrocities committed to Dalits and women in the state. The election was about “Modi’s guarantee” versus the state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s guarantee. “Modi’s guarantee” won over “Congress’ guarantee”.
Analysts say that a large number of people voted for the BJP in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his pledges. PM Modi targeted the Gehlot-led Congress government during his election campaigns in Rajasthan. The Prime Minister attacked the Gehlot government, asked the voters to think about the “Lal Diary” controversy and its effect on inflation and unemployment. He said that the Lal Diary contained information on all the corrupt deeds done by the Congress government in Rajasthan. He drove home the point that the Congress’ aim was only to loot the people and that is why inflation and unemployment had reached record levels in Rajasthan.
According to an analyst, “The BJP has established its dominance in the Hindi heartland and demonstrated that its electoral machinery is significantly better positioned than its opponents to compete in 2024.” He further stated that the Congress and its allies might console themselves by saying that the recent polls were not a semifinal for the Lok Sabha election, which is still months away. They are relying on the chances where BJP makes mistakes and they will capitalise on those mistakes. They are yet to figure out their strategy to cope with the Modi factor. The Congress is still neglecting the Modi factor in Rajasthan. They still believe that the wrath against sitting MLAs and the lack of new faces helped the BJP to win the elections.