Sonia Gandhi, UPA chairperson, on Thursday filed her nomination papers for Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat after a road show in the constituency. Sonia Gandhi is seeking re-election from Rae Bareli for the fifth time in a row.
Outside the collectorate in Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi spoke to waiting mediapersons and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To a question if PM Modi is invincible, she said, “Not at all, not at all. Don’t forget 2004. Vajpayee Ji was invincible, but we won.”
She was referring to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP-led ruling coalition had run an aggressive campaign with “Shining India” slogan. But the Congress-led alliance defeated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2004 polls.
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Congress president Rahul Gandhi elaborated her remark saying, “There have been many many people in the Indian history who had the arrogance to believe that they are invincible and bigger than the people of India. Narendra Modi has done nothing for the people of India in the last five years. His invincibility will be in view after the election results.”
Sonia Gandhi’s reminder has come amid Bharatiya Janata Party’s over-dependence on PM Modi’s popularity among the voters for the success in the Lok Sabha elections. A Modi wave in 2014 propelled the BJP to power with a single-party majority after 30 years.
Sonia Gandhi has drawn a parallel between the present political situation with that of 2004, when Vajpayee was considered as the most popular leader.
The BJP’s publicity machine was in top gear in 2004 as it is today. Most of the pre-poll surveys predicted a win for the BJP yet the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha elections.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP’s publicity machine was in top gear in 2004 as it is today. Most of the pre-poll surveys predicted a win for the BJP yet the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha elections.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress managed to cobble up a strong coalition in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which kept the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at out of power for next 10 years.
Fifteen years down the line, surveys indicate PM Modi is the most popular leader. The BJP campaign machinery has been aggressive in reaching out to people.
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However, there is one difference is the Opposition appeared to be in tatters. But going into 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Opposition has tried to present a united front against the BJP-led coalition with a state-specific election strategy.
Sonia Gandhi, however, is not the only leader to draw a comparison between the 2004 and 2019 elections. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, too, referred to the national elections 15 years ago.
Pawar recently said, “Something similar happened in 2004. (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee was the most popular Prime Minister at the time, though he was not happy with the way things were going. But who would have believed Manmohan Singh would become Prime Minister? I believe if like-minded forces come together and work, I will not be surprised if we collectively form the government.”
At a Hindustan Times event, Sonia Gandhi earlier admitted that the Congress party was surprised with its victory over the BJP ousting the Vajpayee government in 2004.
A BJP leader, however, attributed the 2004 electoral loss to complacency which prompted late Pramod Mahajan to advise Vajpayee to call for early elections. The leader said the success at the end of 2003 in the state assembly elections of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh had infused a sense of complacency in the party.
Heading to 2019 polls, the BJP lost these three states to the Congress in assembly elections held last year. The setback in the state elections has made the BJP cautious leading to a series of steps by the government including a 10% reservation for economically weaker sections and cash support to farmers.
PM Modi and the other BJP leaders have claimed in their election rallies that the ruling NDA will return to power with bigger majority. The Congress, on the other hand, under Rahul Gandhi has led an aggressive campaign against the Modi government trying to corner the government over the issues of unemployment, farm distress and alleged corruption in Rafale deal.