In India’s political history, 1984 was epochal. It was the year Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. It was also the year the four-year-old BJP found itself in an existential crisis—it could win only two seats in the Lok Sabha polls held after Indira’s death. For years, the party had to endure taunts of getting seats equivalent to the family planning norms of the day. Forty years later, though, the tide is set to turn, as Narendra Modi prepares to become the first non-Congress prime minister to win a third term.
Unlike the 2019 elections, when the government had to pitch in with an election-oriented interim budget, the euphoria around the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has the BJP in a comfortable position. The sentiment has huge potential to turn into votes; also, Ram Navami in April could act as another call to the faithful.
With the Modi government’s development pitch and its massive outreach to more than 80 crore beneficiaries of Central government schemes, the BJP has a big lead in getting its messaging to key target groups—women, youth, poor and farmers. Also helping the party is the fact that the opposition is yet to set an emphatic narrative, and is even showing signs of unravelling.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.