WALK THE TALK, AROUND THE CLOCK

The larger message of the BJP and AAP victories is that the delivery of promises, combined with effective communication, is the template to be followed. Politics in the Modi era is a 24x7 phenomenon; it is not to be practised just before the polls, as the opposition found out, especially in Uttar Pradesh

- PRATUL SHARMA

Narendra Modi draws his legitimacy from electoral mandates. The devastating pandemic, lockdown-induced migration, job losses and inflation, among other setbacks, were all forgotten as he worked his magic on the voters in the latest round of state elections.

In terms of scale, the BJP now rules over 40 per cent of India’s geographical area, down from 70 per cent in 2018, but the impact of this latest victory is the biggest since the election that returned the prime minister to power in 2019. It is a sobering lesson for the losers, and a bigger challenge for the contenders, if any, to his throne in 2024. Politics in the Modi era is a 24x7 phenomenon; it is not to be practised just before elections, as the opposition found out in Uttar Pradesh.

The March 10 verdict marks a big shift in the country’s polity. It is a signal that sharp politics and messaging work, if done around the clock. The Uttar Pradesh result marks the rise of a new, muscular politics and the addition of another leader to the firmament. Two decades ago, Narendra Modi—having been picked as Gujarat chief minister by the BJP’s central leadership in 2001—led the party to victory in the 2002 state elections. He won the mandate for himself. Now, Yogi Adityanath has done the same. Plucked out of relative obscurity in 2017, he has now proven his electoral strength. If 2002 was the start of the Modi era, this well could be the beginning of Yogi’s.