Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started taking "bold steps" for 2024 general elections after losses in some states. The comment in party mouthpiece Saamana came in reference to political developments in Gujarat, where Bhupendra Patel was appointed chief minister, replacing Vijay Rupani.
In fact, the entire Rupani cabinet was replaced with a fresh one in the major reshuffle handled by the BJP's central ledership.
"Modi is the real face of the BJP and everyone else is a torn mask. Without Modi, many of the present masks of the BJP will be defeated in the municipal elections. Being aware of this, he has started taking bold steps to prepare for 2024," Raut said in his article.
He further said that since the time JP Nadda became BJP president, the party has been undergoing constant changes.
"It was through Nadda that the chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Karnataka were changed. The chief minister of Gujarat was also changed in a jiffy, in fact, the entire cabinet was reshuffled. The new chief minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel is a first-time MLA. Modi-Nadda have shown that nothing is impossible in politics. They have made all the ministers in Rupani's cabinet sit at home," Raut said in his editorial.
The BJP has started 'repair work' through Nadda to overcome the defeat of the party in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, Raut claimed in the article.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP has started 'repair work' through Nadda to overcome the defeat of the party in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, Raut claimed in the article.
{{/usCountry}}Last month, the Sena - once an ally of the BJP - said that the opposition parties will have to make ‘shrewd and clever’ moves if they want to defeat the BJP in 2024. In a Saamana editorial, it cited the poll results in West Bengal and Maharashtra as examples to stress to Modi-Shah combination can be defeated.
The Sena also asked the opposition parties to win the trust of the people and project themselves as a viable alternative to the BJP.
The suggestions were given after a virtual meeting of 19 opposition parties in which Congress president Sonia Gandhi called for systematic planning and rising above individual compulsions. This was meant to give a push to the opposition parties, which have never joined hands or started poll preparations so much in advance.
The Shiv Sena pulled out of t BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last year after issues over government formation in Maharashtra.
The BJP won 282 seats in 2014 and 303 in 2019. Buoyed by the strong response of the electorate in the BJP's favour in 2019, party national secretary Sunil Deodhar claimed of winning 333 seats in the 2024 General Elections. However, after setbacks in Bengal and other states, the strategy will surely be revised to ensure the party stays on course to come to power for third consecutive time.