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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  BJP banks on brand Modi in Maharashtra, Haryana
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BJP banks on brand Modi in Maharashtra, Haryana

Lack of strong leaders in the two states has forced BJP to make the PM the focus of its election campaigns

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: BloombergPremium
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Bloomberg

New Delhi: Making a virtue out of necessity, given that there are no obvious chief ministerial choices, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making Prime Minister Narendra Modi the focus of its election campaign in Maharashtra and Haryana.

However, analysts caution that in the absence of a powerful state leader and given the importance of local issues in determining electoral choices, the BJP may be taking a risk.

Going by the latest opinion polls, it is still considered the frontrunner in both states.

In all the 23 posters released by the party, six radio messages that will be used by BJP in the two states and three television advertisements, the only party leader is Modi and there is no mention of others, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, the senior-most leaders of the party.

The posters focus on issues of lack of infrastructure development, including road network and power shortages, lack of education in the states, rising incidence of crime against women, allegations of corruption and the alleged land deals by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi —which are some of the major issues for the BJP in Haryana. The party in Maharashtra has decided to take up issues of corruption, mafia, illegal mining, electricity shortage, farmer suicides in Vidarbha region and unemployment.

The BJP had won seven out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and 23 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the general election. While the party was in alliance with the Shiv Sena in the national polls, the two parties have decided to contest separately after they failed to arrive at a seat-sharing arrangement.

While the BJP denied that the campaign would be only Modi-centric, some leaders admit that the party is seeking to capitalise on the Modi brand, which had worked so well in the general election.

“The BJP’s campaign is multi-dimensional. The party is projecting the performance of the Union government in the last four months to seek continuation of the mandate that was given to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The idea is to ensure there is commonality of approach. The campaign is also focusing on the misgovernance of the Congress government in the state and the promises of the BJP," said Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, vice-president of the BJP.

A large section of the people in the BJP wanted Gopinath Munde to lead the party in Maharashtra, but his abrupt demise has created a vacuum. This is the first time in the last 25 years, since 1989, that the party has decided to contest all 288 seats alone in the state.

“The posters and hoardings that are being used have raised crucial questions of governance. The BJP is talking about lack of power, corruption, illegal mining, lack of infrastructure and road network and unemployment," said Sahasrabuddhe.

The dependence on Modi by the state leaders can be understood from the fact that the BJP has demanded that Modi must hold 15 different public meetings in the state; he has been asked to hold another 7-10 public meetings in Haryana. Although the BJP has contested all the 90 seats in Haryana assembly since 2005 assembly elections, the party never succeeded in making an impact in state politics.

“BJP lacks strong influential leaders in the states, especially in Maharashtra and Haryana where elections are due on 15 October. The only chance for the BJP to make it big in the two states is if it is able to project Narendra Modi. If this experiment of the BJP fails, then it is a clear message that people understand that Prime Minister cannot become chief minister," said Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst.

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Published: 01 Oct 2014, 12:26 AM IST
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