After stellar show in Assembly polls, foreign media gives BJP 'big advantage' in 2024, hails PM Modi

After the BJP registered thumping victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and made good gains in southern state of Telangana, the foreign media on Monday saw the results as an indication of voters’ mood and gave edge to the saffron party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eyeing a third consecutive term. According to a New York Times report, the BJP has expanded its dominance of a key region ahead of general elections with wins in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The report added that the wins were another blow to the “dwindling fortunes of the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress." “This is the BJP’s big advantage in 2024," the report quoted political analyst Arati Jerath as saying. Referring to the Ram temple, the NYT report claimed that “Mr. Modi already has a big plan for further galvanizing his base of support: the inauguration in January of a massive Hindu temple in Ayodhya, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh…” “Mr. Modi, projecting himself as an ambitious champion of development as well as Hindu interests, also has a strong pull with voters across the country. His government has used the resources of the top-heavy and unequal Indian economy for well-targeted welfare schemes, handed out often in his name. In states where local BJP leaders were struggling in the elections, it was Mr. Modi’s face on the posters; the handouts for voters were presented as ‘Modi’s guarantee’,” the report added. Financial Times reported while there is limited evidence of a correlation between state and national results, the outcome leaves Congress looking weakened at a crucial time for the party, which dominated Indian politics for decades until PM Modi’s ascent to the premiership in 2014. According to Bloomberg, even though the Assembly elections do not serve as a stand-in for the general elections in 2024, the fact that the Opposition lost fairly comprehensively will buoy the ruling party and PM Modi ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi’s Congress made an effort to highlight issues like discrimination based on caste and unemployment with the hope that, in a few months, they would gain traction across the country, Bloomberg reported. “Prime Minister Modi remains exceptionally popular,” Bloomberg quoted Shumita Deveshwar, chief India economist at GlobalData.TS Lombard, as saying. The state polls show “the mood of the nation lies in bringing him back to power for a third consecutive term,” she added. A weaker performance by the BJP may have provided the Opposition with some momentum, “but the outcome now signals that Modi’s return to power is inevitable,” Deveshwar said. Modi remains widely popular after a decade in power and surveys suggest he will win again next year, reported Reuters. However, a 28-party opposition alliance (INDIA) led by the Congress has come together to jointly fight the BJP, posing a renewed challenge. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress. AFP reported the victories in the three states further boosted the BJP and Modi, who is already the favourite to win his third consecutive term in office next year. “The results are seen as yet another setback for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion Rahul Gandhi, 53, who led the opposition centre-left Indian National Congress party’s aggressive and personal campaign directly targeting Modi,” it added. The BJP won in 163 out of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress remains a distant second with just 66 seats. In Rajasthan, the saffron party won in 115 out of 199 seats that went to the polls, with the Congress clinching only 69. Chhattisgarh has 54 seats for the BJP and 35 for the Congress. Winning 64 out of 119 constituencies, the Congress ousted the BRS government in Telangana. With inputs from agencies