Assembly elections will be the first major test of popularity after the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.
JAIPUR
With the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have taken a firm step towards achieving his “goal of hoisting the national flag on Independence Day at Red Fort next year”.
It goes without saying that PM Modi is already quite popular among a majority of women voters. Now, the achievement of the Modi government in the form of women’s quota bill will bring this population much closer to the BJP.
Muslim women already hugely support PM Modi due to the abolition of triple talaq by his government. The first major ground test for the ruling BJP after the women’s quota bill will be during the five state Assembly elections in November. BJP’s strategy will be known only during PM Modi’s rally in Jaipur, Rajasthan on 25 September. This will be the first rally of Modi after the women’s reservation bill was passed by Parliament. The BJP has handed over all responsibilities for the rally to BJP Mahila Morcha. From now onwards, the BJP’s focus will be on the issues concerning women in all rallies to be held before the Assembly elections. So, the party wants a huge presence of women in all the rallies of its leaders.
PM Modi will set the agenda for all five poll-bound states from his upcoming rally in Jaipur. The agenda will be focused on the issues related to women including the women’s quota bill, sources said. The party units will also include issues at the local level. For example, the BJP’s focus will also be on women’s security and law and order in Rajasthan. Similarly, the saffron party will be pursuing different issues in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s schemes for welfare of women would be showcased by the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Now it is decided that the BJP will contest assembly polls banking on the popularity of PM Modi. However, the BJP’s strategy to fight polls on PM Modi’s face could not succeed in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. Modi has changed the strategy this time. The Hindutva agenda has been relegated to background this time.
Only the Central government’s achievements are being showcased. No doubt, the centre’s decisions over the last three months have changed the atmosphere of the country. The success of the Chandrayaan Mission and the G-20 Summit is going to be highlighted by the BJP during polls. The development in Canada may also benefit the BJP. In the backdrop of entire development related to India-Canada relations, Modi has emerged as a tough and upright administrator.
Learning the lessons from its defeat in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has now shifted its focus to issue-based politics. BJP knows that these assembly elections are quite challenging for it. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s schemes have given Congress a huge advantage. Congress has taken a lead over opponents in Chhattisgarh and Telangana as well. The government led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan in MP is facing anti-incumbency as it has been in power for a long time now. Therefore, the BJP has no option but to bank on PM Modi only.
Meanwhile, a senior functionary of Sangh, Prakash Chand, is tipped to be given key responsibility in Rajasthan. Former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia claims that there will be a massive wave of PM Modi’s popularity in the state as well as in the entire country after the prime minister’s rally on 25 September. After the passage of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, BJP’s victory is certain, he claimed.