After massive wins in 4 states, Modi, BJP turn focus to Gujarat

Modi on a two-day tour to state, meets with leaders

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R  After pocketing four states again in the recent assembly polls, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi won half the battle in the election-bound Gujarat, leaving the opposition Congress and new entrant Aam Aadmi Party in search of fresh strategies to counter the continued saffron wave.

Gujarat faces elections before the year ends, and after the assembly polls results of Thursday, there is a grapevine in the political circles that the elections could be advanced to get the benefit of the latest victories.

The 9-km long road show of Modi in Gujarat on Friday was a show of strength in which the party brought in its workers in 800 buses. The PM addressed party leaders, sarpanchs and members of the panchayats at a panchayat convention in Ahmedabad.

Ever since Modi came in the electoral battle in Gujarat in 2001, he has never let the party down. Whether he was the chief minister of Gujarat or now the PM, the BJP has always won projecting his achievements. This in turn means sheer lack of leadership in the state as you have to always look up to Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This, however, does not matter to the BJP as long as it is winning elections.

For a change, there was no direct or indirect bashing of the opposition and Modi seemed clear in what message he wanted to give to the party workers.

His meeting with party leaders at the BJP’s Gujarat headquarter Kamalam in Gandhinagar was a closed door affair. However, sources said the PM asked the party leaders to be with the masses, in election season and otherwise.

He asked the leaders to have conventions for the primary members of the party. Modi is also believed to have mentioned how in the past “tiffin baithaks” (sitting and eating together from tiffins) had paid dividends.Speaking in Gujarati, Modi also urged the partymen to involve people from various walks of life with the party.

To the sarpanchs and panchayat members, he kept it simple explaining how the quality of lives can be improved in villages. One of his statements that women elected representatives should not allow their husbands to function on their behalf drew a loud applause.

In 2017, the Congress had given one of its best performance and managed to hold the BJP’s tally to 99 in the 182-member assembly. Since then, many MLAs, party workers and leaders have deserted the Congress and joined the BJP.

The BJP and not even Modi has been able to better the performance of former chief minister of the Congress Madhavsinh Solanki under whose leadership the party won 149 seats in mid 1980s. This time around, the party is aiming to break the record.

Modi had a busy day on day one of his two-day tour to the state. Going by the way the party is planning ahead for polls, only a miracle can stop the keep the BJP away from power. The saffron party has been in power in the state for more than two and half decades.

The Congress has been making a desperate attempts to woo the Patidar leaders to join the party. The AAP too is trying hard to establish its base in the state. The AAP will hold a Tiranga Yatra in the state on Saturday. Party leaders from New Delhi and Punjab are expected to join the yatra after its convincing victory in Punjab.