BJP is unique in having the indigenous idea of ‘integral humanism’ in its party constitution when all other parties are flooded with western concepts like secularism, socialism etc. BJP’s belief in cultural nationalism sets it apart as it believes in economic, political and social reconstruction of the country based on Bhartiya Sanskriti and that is why ban on cow slaughter has been on the top of the party manifesto.
BJP is relatively free from ‘high profile corruption’ and dynastic progression in the party ranks.
Ever since May 2014, the party has emphasised on Make in India, Swachh Bharat Mission and development of tourist circuits to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the country. This makes the party as the true inheritor of the Gandhian legacy as it has reinvented Swadeshi, cleanliness and Bhartiya which are the cornerstones of Gandhian philosophy.
Ideologically BJP looks pretty Calm and peaceful but anybody who has observed Indian Politics even for an hour would know that BJP’s core serenity doesn’t come in its way of aggressive politics, especially under the Modi-Shah combine.
After witnessing BJP’s mighty 4/5th sweep in Uttar Pradesh, Omar Abdullah said today in a tweet that there is no leader with pan India acceptability, who could take on Modi.
He suggested the opposition to forget about the 2019 General Elections and be hopeful for 2024 elections. It wasn’t Modi’s wave or a ripple, it’s a tsunami, he added. To understand the gravity of this statement, we must know that after the Vajpayee government, BJP won only a few state elections, that too in the Hindi Heartland only. Back in 2009 after the massive defeat in the General elections, nobody would have expected this kind of comeback for a centre-right party like BJP, which was limited to Hindi speaking states. Even Kalyan Singh led to a 221 out of 425 seat victories at a time when UP included Uttarakhand back in 1991. But this time the tally stands at 325 out of 403 in UP and 57 out of 70 in Uttarakhand with no chief ministerial candidate. One reason: Modi.
The word ‘Modi’ now resonates with success, with victory and people’s love and faith. Clearly, the people of UP have voted to strengthen Modi in the Center, and not just good governance in the state. Modi is synonymous to BJP and vice versa.
And if India Today’s Mood of the Nation Survey is to be believed, the party looks rock solid to win another tenure at least in 2019 given the visible changes BJP has managed to put into effect through its flagship programmes.
Here are the ten takeaways reported verbatim from the India Today Survey:
- If Lok Sabha election, due in 2019, were to be held today, the ruling NDA will get 349 seats. This means a marginal loss of 11 seats as compared to the last MOTN survey done in January 2017. The fact that NDA has been able to maintain a 300 plus seat share in the Lok Sabha even in the third year of the Modi government is remarkable performance
- Narendra Modi has been voted as the best Prime Minister so far in the India Today Survey. He seems unstoppable as his popularity has been continuously growing in the India Today survey. During August 2014, Indira Gandhi was ahead of PM Modi by 12 percentage points and this time, PM Modi is ahead of Indira Gandhi by 16 percentage points.
- PM Modi’s popularity lower in southern India, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been making all-out efforts to gain a stronger foothold.
- In the India Today Survey, a clear majority of 63 percent respondents rated PM Modi’s performance as good or outstanding
- The PM is more popular in urban India than rural India
- On the biggest achievements of the Modi government so far, crackdown on blackmoney tops the list with 23 percent votes. Corruption-free government comes second along with demonetisation in the India Today Survey. People in south region has rated demonetisation as the biggest achievement.
- Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s popularity seems to have taken a dip. When asked about who is the best prime ministerial candidate for the Congress, 25 percent people voted in favour of Rahul – a drop of 5 percentage points over the previous survey. On the critical question about who can revive the Congress, the mood went against the Gandhi family. 43 percent of the respondents feel that ‘Someone else from the Congress but outside the Gandhi family’ can revive the Congress party.
