On a humid July Tuesday, nine months ahead of the much-anticipated Lok Sabha elections, battle lines are clearly drawn and swords are out by both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition, which coined a fancy acronym INDIA for its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
While the latter, a grouping of 26 parties, claimed it represents India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the NDA’s first letter represents ‘New India’. He added that ‘D’ stands for the Development of the nation while ‘A’ is for people’s aspirations.
On Tuesday, the prime minister — a master politician himself — framed a battle of narratives where Opposition’s INDIA stands for dynasty, corruption, political compulsion and negativity while NDA stands for an aspirational India that looks 25 years ahead, taking along the disadvantaged and downtrodden section with it through its various developmental schemes.
By doing this, PM Modi not only presented a positive outlook for the BJP-led grouping but addressed the shortcomings of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ‘Shining India’ where only the aspirational aspect was touched upon.
While INDIA claims to be inclusive, the BJP naturally highlighted the opposition-led bloc’s zero representation from the Northeast by presenting 11 allies from the region at Ashoka Hotel on Tuesday.
After the Opposition pulled a surprise by naming their alliance INDIA, the BJP-led NDA put forth its trump card — Narendra Damodardas Modi — to give a stern rebuttal.
“Alliances formed with negativity are not meant to survive,” the prime minister said as he fired his first salvo on Tuesday evening after weathering a day of political attacks from the likes of Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal in Bengaluru, where the Opposition went into a huddle for two days.
Minutes into his speech at Kalinga Hall in Delhi’s Ashoka Hotel, PM Modi alleged that the Congress had a habit of bringing down governments as he contrasted it with the NDA, saying the alliance was not formed to oust regimes. Throughout the day, the focal point of discussion at Bengaluru was to topple the Modi government.
Suggesting the opposition alliance was the result of “Satta ki majboori” (compulsion of power) and “bhrashtachar ki niyat se kiya gaya” (with an intent to indulge in corruption), he stressed: “NDA’s situation is exactly the opposite and different. For us, an alliance is not ‘majboori’ (compulsion) but ‘majbooti’ (strength).” He reminded how BJP, despite being in a position to form the government on its own, preferred coming to power as NDA.
While he mentioned various government schemes, PM Modi did not lose the opportunity to hit out at the Opposition. Referring to Direct Benefit Transfer, he said: “Due to DBT, we saved Rs 3 lakh crore from going into wrong hands.” He added: “The repeated mistake the Opposition is doing is they are undermining the intellect of the common man.”
Very soon, the prime minister was in his known political avatar, tearing into the Opposition. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s recent tours abroad, without naming him, PM Modi said amid applause from NDA partners: “We never sought foreign help to oppose the ruling government.” To put things into perspective, Rahul Gandhi had questioned “why Europe and the US, the defenders of democracies, were oblivious of how a huge chunk of democracy in India had come undone” at an event in London.
The prime minister also highlighted an apparent contradiction among the opposition constituents. “In Kerala, the Left and the Congress are baying for each other’s blood. But their leaders are smiling, holding each other’s hands in Bengaluru. People can see how TMC is attacking Left and Congress cadres in Bengal but their leaders are refusing to utter a word against the TMC,” said PM Modi. Making a contrast between an NDA with a positive outlook of developmental schemes and the alleged negativity of INDIA, PM Modi expressed confidence that 140 crore Indians could see through the “kushti” (fight) and “dosti” (friendship) among opposition parties.
He also did not forget to bring in the success of his foreign relations while discussing domestic politics. “No country wants to invest their time and energy in an outgoing government. They wait for electoral results to come out but this time, things are different in India.”
Referring to his historic US visit and the red carpet welcome in France among other instances, the prime minister suggested that the outcome of the elections was a known fact to these nations. “It is because they know Indians trust NDA,” he added.
Amid thundering applause, he announced that NDA’s vote share in the 2024 General Elections will be over 50 per cent, adding that all parties must seek votes in the name of development. “We need to only focus on development and take ‘Vikas’ to the people. India will be the third-largest economy in NDA’s third tenure,” he added.
What set the template of Modi’s ‘New India’ was not just eyeing 2024 but looking at another 25 years ahead. He said the last nine years were only the “foundation” of a New India, adding that he has a vision for an independent India at 100.
The bottom line is simple: It’s Modi’s aspirational yet developmental ‘New India’ vs Opposition’s inclusive INDIA. It’s now over to 2024 campaigns where the counter narratives by opposite sides will be played out in high-octane rallies across cities and hinterlands of India.
Comments
0 comment