The BJP has received a significant boost domestically, an advantage it will certainly leverage in the upcoming state elections.
The BRICS summit held at Bharat Mandapam has once again propelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity to its peak. This serves as a major setback to the narrative recently propagated by the Congress party, which claimed that the Prime Minister’s popularity was on the decline. Although PM Modi had already largely salvaged his image, which had suffered following the paper leak protests, by personally taking charge and directly engaging with students to quell youth resentment, the BRICS summit has thrust his image back into the spotlight on both the national and international stages. While the international outcomes remain to be seen, the BJP has received a significant boost domestically, an advantage it will certainly leverage in the upcoming elections. PM Modi is now poised to make bold decisions; several key matters, such as the delimitation exercise and the restructuring of his own team, have been pending. This is the first BRICS summit featuring heads of state from 11 nations, including Russia and China, with India playing host. The developments emerging from the BRICS summit are being discussed worldwide, particularly because the event took place amidst ongoing conflicts such as the Iran-US and Russia-Ukraine tensions.
A photograph showing PM Modi holding hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as they walked into the meeting sent a powerful message to the world. From a political standpoint, this image significantly strengthens the NDA government. BRICS has demonstrated its growing influence to the US and European nations. Furthermore, the rapport between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin has further deepened ties between the two countries, while China has also emphasised strengthening relations. Global attention is now focused on PM Modi, with questions being raised about whether he can help end ongoing conflicts and guide the world towards peace. PM Modi has firmly established himself as one of the world’s most powerful leaders. The BRICS summit took place just as PM Modi was approaching the completion of 25 years in public office and service. Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 6, 2001. After serving in that role for 13 years, he has been continuously serving the nation as Prime Minister since 2014. He will complete this 25-year milestone on the 6th of next month. Modi has become the first leader in the country to have the opportunity to serve the nation continuously for 25 years. The decisions he has taken over the past 12 years were beyond anyone’s imagination. He abrogated Article 370 regarding Kashmir and abolished ‘Triple Talaq’. He facilitated the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Following surgical and air strikes, he projected an aggressive global image for India, demonstrating that India is capable of striking the enemy within its own territory.
PM Modi emerged as the country’s most popular leader due to sweeping improvements and transformations in infrastructure and services that directly impact the common man, such as railways, roads, electricity, water supply and healthcare. Initiatives providing toilets, clean drinking water and free food grains in rural areas strengthened the BJP’s position in the countryside. While caste-based politics dealt him a setback in the 2024 general elections, he learned from the experience and did not look back. He demonstrated his strength by securing victories in half a dozen states, including major ones such as Bihar, Bengal and Maharashtra. Although a UGC decision and the paper leak incident gave the opposition an opportunity, they failed to capitalise on it. The opposition remained silent on the UGC issue out of fear, as speaking up would have undermined its own castebased politics. The government managed the situation swiftly and quelled the unrest. Currently, only the Congress party is actively campaigning against the government regarding the paper leak issue. However, the party has found itself in a bind by attempting to play Dalit politics amidst this.
