How PM Narendra Modi turned things around for the BJP in Karnataka

Around 10 days ago, the media liked to believe that the Congress party had an upper hand in the Karnataka elections. The situation today has significantly changed. In the last eight days Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s no-holds-barred rallies and road-shows have given the BJP a clear advantage and if this momentum continues till polling day, the party is set to get a clear majority in the state for the first time after the 2008 elections. How did things turn around? The BJP, powered by PM Modi’s all out efforts has employed a three pronged strategy. Peaking at the Right Time Whether it’s a stretched-out sports tournament or the political elections, often one side exhausts its resources by peaking out early whereas the other side builds up its momentum gradually and watchfully, while waiting for the last leg to escalate its attack and go for the jugular. No points for guessing here which side wins! In that sense, the BJP has mastered the art of peaking at the right time. The last 10 days of campaigning have always been the most crucial for the BJP. This is when PM Modi leads the campaign with relentless rallies and roadshows. The sheer energy and commitment that PM Modi puts in the campaign, has a percolating effect. It inspires Karykartas right down to the level of Panna Pramukhs. All of them are inspired to optimize their efforts. In the last UP, Uttarakhand and Gujarat assembly elections, PM Modi’s overdrive towards the end has potentially increased the vote share of BJP by approximately 2 per cent, resulting in 15-20 seats gain in the bigger states of UP and Gujarat and a 5-6 seats gain in Uttarakhand. It is this factor that has made the party plan the longest roadshow in India’s political history on 6th May- a good 36km across the city by PM Modi. No wonder all the latest surveys in Karnataka have confirmed that Congress is now trailing behind and once again PM Modi’s campaign has put the BJP in the drivers’ seat. Bajrang Dal and The Kerala Story The Congress party’s manifesto promise of banning Bajrang Dal gave PM Modi a golden opportunity to decimate the Congress campaign. PM Modi lapped it up with both hands, charging the Congress party of being anti-Hindu and accusing it of having a serious problem with all Hanuman Bhakts. As a result, Congress party’s baseless but vociferous 40 per cent Sarkara campaign went for a toss. The Congress instead went on the defensive, making hasty promises to construct Hanuman temples if voted to power, for which there were obviously no takers. Invoking the chants of “Bajrang Bali ki Jai” in his campaign rallies was aimed at Hindu consolidation against the “compromised” Congress. And if the response in these rallies to the Bajrang Bali incantation is anything to go by, it has brought the focus back on Congress’s minority appeasement and its soft corner towards Popular Front of India (PFI). In fact the Congress attempt to create an equivalence between PFI and Bajrang Dal has brought the spotlight back on its age-old association with SDPI, the political wing of PFI. PM Modi further upped the ante by calling out the Congress hypocrisy on The Kerala Story. He charged the Congress party of trying to shield terrorist activities brewing in Kerala by opposing the truth depicted in the Kerala Story. Fact is that PFI had the highest imprint in the states of Kerala and Karnataka. In fact last year Pravin Nettaru, a Hindu activist was brutally hacked to death in Bellare village of Dakshina Kannada district. The NIA chargesheet mentions Pravin’s killer as a “master trainer” of PFI in the Kodagu region. Some other Hindu activists too have been murdered in similar ways. For Priyanka Gandhi to brazenly say that terrorism is a non-show, shows the Congress party’s apathy towards Hindu martyrs. By hammering this in, PM Modi has managed to put the Congress party in a corner. Impetus on Local Issues While the top leaders focus on calling out the Congress hypocrisy on secularism and corruption, there is another distinct layer to the campaign which often goes unnoticed by the media: The local leaders have been asked to focus on the state’s development issues in their campaign and give out details with data and facts about the various development initiatives undertaken by the state government in the last few years. Some of these achievements include: · The Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project - BJP Govt will change fortunes of drought prone districts of Central Karnataka. In the last budget Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a grant of ₹5,300 crore for this project. (b). PM Kisan Scheme - Nearly 55 lakh farmers benefit from this scheme in Karnataka and receive ₹6,000 annually. · Shubha Lagna Scheme - Mass marriage programme for daughters from poor background. Govt gives gifts worth ₹55,000 to newly weds. · Kashi Yatra Scheme - ₹5,000 provided to pilgrims who want to visit Kashi for pilgrimage under this scheme. · ₹2,000 monthly bank transfer to women of BPL families under Gruhini Shakti scheme. · CM Bala Seva Scheme - Free laptops provided to children who lost parents due to COVID and a monthly allowance of ₹3,500 provided to their guardians. · Nekara Samman Scheme - ₹2,000 financial aid provided to weavers. · Thirst Free Karnataka Scheme - Both Govts will spend nearly ₹8000 crore to provide piped drinking water in all local bodies. · Vidya Nidhi Scheme - Scholarships worth thousands of crores provided to all sections of society. · Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme - Lakhs covered under this insurance scheme which covers nearly 1,650 procedures. · Suchi Scheme - Free sanitary pads provided to female students. · Chamundeshwari temple, Sri Madhwa Vana, Papnash temple and Sri Renuka Yallamma temple selected by the Union Govt under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme. · Mysuru City was selected to be developed as full fledged tourist spot under Swadesh Darshan Yojana. · 1,400 vented dams under construction in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts under Paschima Vahini Scheme. · Grama One Project of the State Govt is offering 800 citizen centric services in villages and it has provided employment to people who work in these centres. While this well calibrated, layered, no-holds-barred aggression has put BJP within striking distance of the majority mark, PM Modi’s extensive road show is likely to clinch it in BJP’s favour. My sense is that the BJP is ready to go past the 120 seats this time and surprise many. There is a reason India’s beleaguered opposition hates PM Modi so much . The writer is an author and BJP spokesperson. Views are personal.  Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.