Modi chalks out Delhi plans straight from Hindi heartland

Narendra Modi is trying to play on the Uttar Pradesh sub-nationalism pride among the electorate of the Hindi heartland state that sends 80 MPs. It’s not just Uttar Pradesh but he is also targeting rich electoral dividends from the neighbouring state of Bihar, which account for another 40 seats. The BJP prime ministerial candidate has rightly figured out that the NDA could catapult to power only if Uttar Pradesh gives 5o plus seats to BJP and Bihar plays a supportive role. This was his third rally in Uttar Pradesh in the past 20 days and will hold another rally in Agra on 21 November. That’s why even as he was speaking in Bahraich, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, he chose to refer, for the second day in a row of Patna serial blasts and link it with revered Chhatt festivities. The BJP currently has only 22 seats from these two states. The BJP already has a comfort zone in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhtisgarh, so if he is able to mobilise votes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he could be real close to making it home in May 2014, when the results of parliamentary elections are out. Together, the two states send 120 members to Lok Sabha.[caption id=“attachment_1219419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] Keeping his political and geographical calculations meticulous, Modi even wooed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from Bahraich. With BJP’s negligible presence in the big state of West Bengal, the Gujarat chief minister took a smartly crafted move by reaching out to her from Uttar Pradesh even. During his visit to West Bengal, Modi spoke highly of Banerjee but today’s move has been politically interesting. Bahraich, located on the Indo-Nepal borders comes under Awadh, which account for 16 parliamentary seats, of which nine seats are currently held by the Congress and one by the BJP. It was strong showing in this region that changed fortunes of the Congress (22) in last parliamentary elections. Bahraich, for instance is held by a SPG commando turned Nehru-Gandhi loyalist, Kamal Kishore, popularly known as Commando in his constituency. The size of the crowd, despite a heightened threat perception at his public rallies and consequent security checks hassles must have been very enthusing for Modi. He went on to add how lucky Bahraich had been for him. While he was here in October 2001, as party general secretary, he got a message from Delhi to get ready to take over mantle of Gujarat chief minister. He does seem to believe in an old saying that the road to Delhi leads from Lucknow or as Vajpayee would spell Lucknow at the last BJP convention he attended in that city as “Luck Now”. It’s clear from Modi’s style that he is taking too many lessons in oratory from Vajpayee, BJP’s tallest leader ever. As a matter of fact, Uttar Pradesh has given eight prime ministers to the country. Taking on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi Modi questioned the backwardness of the state when the mightiest of leaders were elected from constituencies that lay in 100 km radius of Lucknow. Besides, taking his usual rhetorical potshots against the Congress “Shahzada” (Rahul Gandhi), Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, he aggressively went on talking about the aftermath politics of Muzaffarnagar riots. Right or wrong, there has already been a build up in the majority community against Akhilesh Yadav government’s handling of riots. There have also been indications that Samajwadi Party’s overt wooing of Muslim community by various means had created a situation that could be favourable to the BJP. Modi played on that psyche but he used a judicial order that revoked imposition of NSA (National Security Act) against two BJP MLAs, Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana for their alleged complicity in Muzaffarnagar riots. Since Samajwadi party is “guided by vote bank politics, they don’t have courage or the conviction of bringing the actual culprits to the book, so they are using every possible trick to blame it on the innocents. That cannot be acceptable”. Modi knows that so far his image of a strong and decisive leader has worked, adding a bit of victimhood without appearing to be faltering on his original image, he thinks would only help in pitching for high electoral yield. “Those who couldn’t defeat me the through ballot and have lost three times against me, have found have other ways to browbeat me – unleash CBI and pamper Indian Mujahideen. Those promoting bomb, gun and pistol politics must know that I made of different metal,” he said. In fact Modi set this tone in first few seconds of his speech, “Why are they opposing me so bitterly? It’s not because of the fact they are faced with a sure defeat but because those who have worked to destroy the nation through various means know where would they land should we come to power.” The Gujarat chief minister also lashed out at the Congress by raking the 30 October information and broadcasting ministry censor directive to television channels that even threatened cancellation of license should they do it again – compare PM’s speech with another leader on “national occasions”. Modi turned this directive to take a jibe at his favourite Rahul Gandhi. “The directive meant to address a situation on 15 August came only ten days back because when I spoke on 27 October in Patna, Shahzada too was speaking around the same time but he could only be seen not heard.” Modi has made his Uttar Pradesh motives clear and would hope, come next summer he would be presiding over the Delhi throne.