BJP’s stellar victories in Assembly Elections in 2022, with BJP retaining power in all four States where it contested as incumbent and improving its performance in Punjab, has been nothing short of magical. In Uttar Pradesh (UP), this is the first government to get re-elected in UP in 37 years. For the first time ever, a sitting CM who has served the full five-year term has got re-elected in UP.
Considerable increase in BJP’s vote share from 39.7% in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections to 42.8% in 2019 to 46% , for BJP and allies in UP in 2022, vindicates the concept of double-engine sarkaar. Uttarakhand’s trend of changing the Party in power, every five years also ended in 2022, with BJP becoming the first Party in 21 years to be back in power, for the second time in a row. For the first time ever in decades, Uttarakhand has re-elected a sitting State government. BJP has retained its vote share in Uttarakhand, making the victory even sweeter. Sharp improvement in BJP’s electoral performance in Goa to 20 seats despite being in power for the past ten years, is another historic milestone. From the second-largest party in 2017, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in this election in 2022, in Goa. Improvement in BJP’s vote share in Goa as compared from 32.5% in 2017 to 33.6% in 2022, is commendable. BJP bucked anti-incumbency in Manipur too. From being the second-largest party in 2017, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Manipur,with a solid 32 seats and a 37.6% vote share in 2022, from a 36.3% vote share in 2017. No matter how one dissects the results of the 2022 assembly elections,if there is one thing that has emerged loud and clear,it is the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aura has only grown exponentially in the last 8 years of his leadership at the helm. The Modi juggernaut is unstoppable, the Congress stands decimated nationally and both PM Modi and the BJP have zero competition.
In fact, the Modi magic has now turned into a Modi Tsunami, thanks to the unflinching zeal with which PM Modi has ensured last-mile delivery. For instance, in the last 8 years, about Rs 20 lakh crore has been given via direct benefit transfer (DBT) to the poor and marginalised, with not a single penny pilfered by middlemen. In Uttar Pradesh, for example,15 crore people were getting free ration every month, during COVID 42 lakh houses were built in UP under PM Awaas Yojana,1.5 crore women got free gas connections, over 1.4 crore households got free electricity, over 6.5 crore people benefited directly or indirectly from Ayushman Bharat and almost one crore people in UP got benefits of pension schemes. The extent of penetration of PM Narendra Modi’s welfare schemes has been mind-boggling. Even in a small state like Manipur,60000 houses were built under PM Awaas Yojana and over 4 lakh piped water connections were made available under PM Modi’s “Har Ghar Jal” scheme. From a Rs 21000 crore economy, Manipur became a Rs 35000 crore, economy. While Goa has an over 25% Christian population, Manipur has a Christian and tribal population in excess of 41%. The resounding victories in both these States showcase how PM Modi’s Vikaswaad has trounced the politics of religion, caste, creed and Jaatiwaad. A vanquished Leftist cabal, out-of-work lawyers like Prashant Bhushan and self-styled farmers like Yogendra Yadav who accused BJP of only being a Party of Hindus, with a majoritarian agenda,are left with egg on their face, today. BJP’s surreal rise is the result of PM Modi’s inclusive politics, based on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s concept of “integral humanism”.
Varanasi, PM’s constituency, is today on the bucket list of virtually every international tourist who comes to India. In 2014, when PM Modi was elected as the MP of Varanasi, he remarked, “There’s a lot of work that God has put me on this earth for. A lot of it is dirty work, but I’m up to the task.” Since then, from world-class infrastructure to express trains, from underground cabling to waste treatment plants, from a cultural convention center to modern traffic control, from a multimodal terminal to a container depot for perishables, Varanasi has witnessed a transformative revolution in the last seven years, with Kashi Vishwanath Dham, showcasing Kashi’s vibrancy. The Modi juggernaut is more powerful than ever before because, if there is one thing that has been solidly consistent between Modi’s Gujarat model and the Varanasi model, it is Narendra Modi’s tireless energy, his boundless passion, his unflappable zeal for hard work, but most of all what makes him unparalleled and in a league of his own, is Modi’s persistent policy of putting India and Indians first over everything else. Making grand plans and then executing them with equal finesse are Modi’s hallmark.
For example, PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ring Road and Phase-1 was completed in November 2018 in record time, making traffic movement across Varanasi much easier and helping decongestion of roads. Varanasi has a very busy airport, naturally due to the movement of pilgrims and tourists in and out of the city. The over 17-kilometer long airport road developed under the aegis of PM Modi, is called the Gateway of Varanasi today. The development of the first multimodal terminal on an inland waterway in Varanasi was a matter of pride for the city, with the PM receiving the first container vessel on the river Ganga,in 2018.No wonder, for people of Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh, Modi is a messiah.
PM Modi laid the foundation of two dedicated cancer hospitals in Varanasi, a few years back. Also, IMS BHU was accorded AIIMS like status, which will further improve health facilities in the hospital. Kashi is called the city of Mahadev, as in Lord Shiva and, the development of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is a boon to lakhs of devotees of Shiva, who are making use of the direct link, developed between the temple and Ganga Ghat. Kashi, a thriving and busy city, generates a lot of waste and sewage. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a large sewage infrastructure project. A 140 million litre per day (MLD) sewage treatment plant (STP) at Dinapur, set up in 2018, has made the city get rid of the large waste generated and would further curb river pollution.It is this eye for detail, that sets Modi apart, from his peers. Narendra Modi leaves nothing to chance–he is a perfectionist.
The last few years have been momentous in the history of Kashi. Not only has the city given India one of its most popular and powerful Prime Ministers ever, but it has also witnessed rapid development that only an MP of Modi’s stature can usher in. PM Modi laid the foundation stone of trade facilitation Center and Crafts Museum in 2017, for the benefit of many weavers, craftsmen and artisans of Varanasi and nearby areas.
He had once remarked that India cannot become Vishwa Guru without the development of Kashi. The development of Kashi is in turn, incomplete without bettering the lives of weavers.
Handicrafts of Kashi are spread in the form of cottage industries, Banarasi silk saree, textile industry, carpet industries being some of the prominent ones. More than lakhs of handloom weavers are directly or indirectly related to these industries. Measures taken for the betterment of weavers and artisans have gone a long way in enhancing their incomes. For the retention of the next generation of weavers, a carpet engineering program is being run in IICT Bhadohi. 75% of the fees of the students belonging to poor families of weavers are being taken care of by the Modi government. There is a provision for margin money of Rs. 10,000 in MUDRA scheme for weavers. Mega carpet clusters in Mirzapur and Bhadohi are being given modern looms. Also, they are being imparted skills under skill development programs. To realise this goal, a B.Tech. program in the carpet technology area, is being run in IICT Bhadohi. India currently occupies a 35 per cent share of the world’s carpet market. PM Modi has set a target to own 50% of the world’s carpet market.
Not only is Kashi witnessing development on an unprecedented scale but people of this sacred city are also experiencing firsthand what it is to have as a karmayogi PM as their MP. A “cheque bounce” law was scrapped, on the request of small businessmen from Varanasi, benefitting scores of small traders and proprietors. The ‘Jan Sampark’ office of PM Modi in Kashi is dedicated to the service of common people in the city and had done exemplary work, when floods hit the city, in 2020.
Varanasi is the only place from where the revered Ganga, is Uttar Vahini (flows towards North). It is here from where the powerful stream of the river Ganga turns directions. Thus, the start of the biggest sanitation drive also happened from Varanasi. Speaking of Covid, the moment it became clear that the second wave had hit India, PM sent his emissary, a long-time aide, AK Sharma to Varanasi with instructions to take proactive measures and make sure that damage was controlled. Sharma landed in Varanasi on April 13, 2021 and immediately set in motion a 24/7 Command and Control room. With 20 dedicated phone lines and round-the-clock manpower, the “Kashi Covid Response Center”, became the hub of coordination between various arms of administration, as also interface with the people, for seamless management of the situation. Two Oxygen plants, hundreds of Oxygen cylinders and concentrators were ordered and a DRDO Covid hospital was also set up, to tide over the crisis. During the second wave in April and May 2021, the over 9000 persons per day vaccination rate in Kashi, was also one of the highest for any city, in Uttar Pradesh. In fact, contrary to popular perception, with less than 24000 deaths, despite a massive population in excess of 24 crores, makes Uttar Pradesh, is actually one of the best States in terms of Covid management, with the lowest per capita death rates. With barely a 3.5 crore population,the Left ruled Kerala has seen close to 67000 COVID deaths, which is a reflection of how the Kerala model has been a complete disaster. That the inept Rahul Gandhi, is MP from Wayanad in Kerala, is not lost on anyone.
Varanasi is holy. Varanasi is mystical. Varanasi is enigmatic. Varanasi represents the timeless values of Hindu dharma.
For the first time, a Member of Parliament from the city is the Prime Minister of India. If we look at the political history in India, a PM’s constituency is in the spotlight only for a brief period of time. In some cases, like in the case of “compulsive liar”, Rahul Gandhi, desperate to be the PM, for instance, his so called high profile visits to Amethi, used to happen only on the eve of elections, once every five years.No wonder the electorate of Amethi sent him packing as an MP, in 2019.
Even though Pushkar Singh Dhami lost the polls, BJP was effective in selling the development plank. BJP leadership under PM Modi focussed on development works including the Char Dham all-weather road, Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway project, AIIMS Rishikesh satellite center at Udham Singh Nagar, Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh, largest optical telescope at Devasthal in Nainital and Jal Jeevan Mission for piped water supply to 8 lakh households. The Lakhwar multi-purpose project which was conceived in 1976 is being revived, only due to political willpower of PM Modi. The manifesto, which focused on the core agenda of Hindutva, also promised Rs 3000 monthly to the trained, unemployed youths, Rs 6000 pension, an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh for those working in the unorganised sector, three free cooking gas cylinders to the poor and additional Rs 2000 under Kisan Samman Nidhi to farmers in Uttarakhand. The simple point is this–right from delivering development at the doorstep of the poor, to ensuring that the election manifesto of any given State is holistic, PM Modi’s inimitable stamp of good governance is the crux of BJP’s politics.
True, the BJP has a piece of gargantuan electoral machinery, dedicated and selfless karyakartas and organisational penetration at booth and panna pramukh levels. That said, the buck always stops at the doorstep of the top leadership and Prime Minister Modi has never shied away from accountability and transparency, the two things that give him a cutting edge advantage over his peers, who are fumbling and floundering. For example, Shiv Sena and the NCP lost deposits and polled lower votes than NOTA in UP, Goa and Manipur in an embarrassing display of political suicide. As for TMC, it was routed in Goa despite tall claims by Mamata Banerjee that TMC was set to form government in Goa. A few months back TMC was routed and got just one out of 334 seats in Tripura local body polls. Basically, TMC and Mamata have no clout outside Bengal and Mamata is just a one-State leader,with no national standing at all. As for AAP, let the truth be told. AAP under Kejriwal contested in four States including Uttar Pradesh and won just Punjab, which translates into a measly strike rate of just 25%. Even in Goa where AAP was contesting for the second time in a row, it managed just 2 seats. So while AAP won Punjab, the Kejriwal model is a lot of hogwash because it has no track record and this model is neither tried or tested. Delhi is not a full-fledged State in any case.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet”, is a famous quote by Theodore M. Hesburgh. And barring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there is not a single leader in the entire Opposition who has an India-centric foresight or vision, much less the ability to execute that vision. Speaking of quotes, there is another one by John Maxwell which says: “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” Clearly, PM Modi has wonderfully balanced the tightrope walk between being a welfarist and a reformist. He is both. And that is anything but easy. But then, if you are Narendra Modi, making the most difficult tasks look effortlessly easy, comes naturally. That is precisely what makes the Modi juggernaut so relentless and unstoppable.
The writer is an Economist, National Spokesperson of the BJP and the Bestselling Author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed are the writer’s personal.