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Punjab polls: Banking on Brand Modi, BJP hopes to spring a surprise
Running a high-voltage campaign, PM Narendra Modi has led from the front with four back-to-back rallies ahead of the Punjab polls
Considered a feeble political force in Punjab just a couple of months before the state elections because of unprecedented unrest over farm laws, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now apparently making its opponents anxious and sending poll pundits into a tizzy in a multi-cornered contest for the 117-seat assembly.
Contesting on 68 assembly seats — the highest ever — in alliance with former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress and veteran Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s SAD (Sanyukt), the saffron party is hoping to spring a surprise with its “Brand Modi” and “double-engine government” push.
Running a high-voltage campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led from the front with four back-to-back rallies. Other than him, more than 15 national leaders have addressed at least 80 rallies in the state, including six each by home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and party chief JP Nadda.
The BJP used to contest on 23 assembly seats when it was in alliance with the Badals-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Its best performance came in 2007, when it won 19 seats. However, in the 2017 assembly polls, it could win just three.
Focus on urban seats
Though the party’s new slogan “Nawan Punjab, Bhajpa De Naal” (New Punjab is with the BJP) has had very little resonance in rural areas, it appears to have made an impact in urban belts that are considered the saffron party’s traditional stronghold, say political experts.
However, BJP leaders claim that having candidates campaign in such pockets where it was not even possible for party leaders to roam freely due the farmers’ unrest till just couple of months back is no less than an achievement.
Under its well-crafted strategy, even as the BJP has been bringing up issues concerning Sikhs, mainly initiatives of the Modi government for the welfare of the community, the party’s real focus is on 25-30 seats dominated by Hindu-Dalit community, where it feels the “Brand Modi” and “double-engine government” slogans will have a huge impact.
A long-pending demand of the Hindu community for compensation to terrorism-hit families has been included in the party’s manifesto besides promises to give a push to infrastructural development in the state.
However, senior party functionaries feel the biggest challenge is the lack of strong faces contesting polls and overdependence on the “Modi factor”.
Similar is the plight of alliance partners PLC and the SAD (Sanyukt), the parties that also lack strong faces. Notably, five candidates of the PLC out of the total 34 have opted for the BJP’s symbol. The SAD (Sanyukt), which has been given 15 seats, is having formidable presence in just two-four seats.
Strong Dera push
The BJP has also worked tirelessly to woo Deras and religious sects in Punjab, which hold sway over a large population and can turn the tide in favour of any party at the eleventh hour.
The Prime Minister has interacted with heads of at least 25 Deras that represent various castes, including heads of Radha Soami Satsang Beas and Namdhari sect. The party is also not averse to taking support from the Dera Sacha Sauda, whose head and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been recently released on a 21-day furlough by the BJP-led Haryana government. This Dera, based in Sirsa, has the capacity of changing political fortunes in most of the seats in Malwa belt, which shares border with Haryana.
Punjab BJP’s election in-charge and Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat says: “The BJP has come out with the strongest vision for Punjab with focus on communal harmony. The party has a track record of development. It has helped us mark our strong presence on rural seats where party leaders were not even able to walk freely. One thing is for sure that the BJP combine will surprise everyone in these polls.”
