OPINION: Modi ji! Ration and speeches are not enough?

Patna: One thing is clear in the trends of the Lok Sabha elections so far that the BJP leadership took the battle of 2024 too lightly. In the trends of all 543 seats till the time of writing the news, the NDA government has crossed the majority mark. In the trends, the NDA is ahead in 270 seats. The thing to note here is that the India Alliance is giving a tough fight in the trends. The Congress-led India Alliance is leading in 251 seats so far. The number of India Alliance is worth noting because parties other than these two alliances are also ahead in 22 seats. In such a situation, it cannot be predicted what political equations will be formed after the final results come out.

Seeing the trend, the slogan of ration and speech came into discussion

If we look at the entire phase of the Lok Sabha election campaign, we will find that the NDA camp was completely dependent on 5 kg free ration and PM Modi’s boastful speeches. Narendra Modi During the entire election campaign, he/she was seen raising issues in rallies ignoring the dignity of his/her post. PM Modi, who started the election campaign with the issue of Ram temple, kept raising issues like Mangalsutra, buffalo theft, and Congress snatching the property of Hindus and distributing it to Muslims. On reaching the last phase of the election campaign, PM Modi did not hesitate to use words like Mujra for the opposition parties in the Bihar rally.

For how many days will BJP get votes through free ration?

During the entire election, when the vote percentage went down, many BJP leaders and workers kept hoping for free ration. BJP-supported journalists also kept saying that because of free ration, women have broken the shackles of religion and caste and have trusted PM Modi’s guarantee. Especially in a state like Uttar Pradesh, BJP and NDA’s constituent parties were assuming that free ration will bring in a lot of votes from Dalits. They were assuming that BSP has no presence on the ground, so their voters will trust BJP for ration.

The public did not like the PM’s bragging

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament that he/she alone will overpower everyone. All the BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi kept making personal attacks on leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav. BJP made the mistake of thinking that the way Rahul made personal attacks on PM Modi, it benefited them. When their leaders did the same things for the opposition leaders, its effect is visible in the trends of 2024. The PM appeared to be a victim of narcissism in his/her speeches and interviews. When asked questions on any issue related to the public, he/she would answer it in such a way as if it was not an issue at all. On questions like inflation, the PM refused to accept it as an issue. When questions were asked about jobs, he/she described selling pakodas as employment. When asked about government jobs, he/she started telling PF account numbers. There were many such issues in which the PM showed bragging to his/her heart’s content.

Blaming Congress for every problem

In 2014, the people of the country brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the centre with a lot of hope. The PM also showed a lot of dreams to the people of the country. Every second or third day, he/she would come up with a new gimmick so that the people remain engrossed in the headlines. But there is a saying in the villages – ‘If the stomach remains empty, how long will we continue to be slaves’. Whenever PM Modi’s government was asked about any problem, it would blame Nehru and Indira for it. The limit was crossed when Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari was asked why he/she married twice and why he/she has more than two children, then Manoj Tiwari held the Congress government responsible for this too. Manoj Tiwari was the same MP who was seen laughing and singing songs when common people were standing in queues during demonetisation.

I did not like the foreign glitter for a long time

In almost every speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders, it was definitely said that India’s respect has increased in foreign countries under this government. The regular meeting of G20 in Delhi was also counted as an achievement of the Modi government. In such a situation, the question arises that in a country where 80 crore people are expecting free ration, how long will the people of that country keep voting after seeing the foreign glitz and glamour. When the voter who was happy after seeing the glitz and glamour started thinking about issues like inflation and unemployment, he/she changed his/her mood. Instead of trusting the strong ruling party, the public was forced to believe in the weak opposition. In the end, it can only be said that the entire BJP needs to introspect after this result.

Note: These are the personal views of the author.