The long-drawn campaign for the Lok Sabha elections entered the home stretch this week. In about 10 days, the seven-phase voting to elect a new government and constitute the 18th Lok Sabha will end.
Political campaigning is central to any election. In mid-March, when the electoral race began, the incumbent government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seemed to be in the pole position. But as the contest progressed, there was talk about the waning of the 'wave'.
Modified Strategy
The BJP government had started its campaigning much before the election schedule was announced. Cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 'selfie' points were a common sight, aimed at publicising the government's achievements. This was backed by regular claims that the development seen in India over the last 10 years was just a "trailer". But perhaps learning from the failure of the 'India Shining' and the 'feel-good factor' campaigns in 2004, the party modified its pitch. Instead of playing up the work done by the Modi government, the party chose to highlight how previous governments did little, especially when it came to welfare schemes for economically backward sections.
Simultaneously, BJP leaders started talking about the importance of having a strong government and decisive leadership. For instance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah mentioned recently that under Modi's leadership, the government was able to tackle serious internal challenges like 'Left-wing extremism' and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, also stressed the need for a strong leader amid the emerging global landscape.
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The emphasis on 'Modi Ki Guarantee' and the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) target of securing 400-plus seats also reduced as party leaders increased direct attacks on the Congress and its allies. Sharp barbs against Rahul Gandhi and his family and the Congress's manifesto and promises followed, as also attempts to draw the party into a vortex through religious issues.
Opposition's Narrative
However, the BJP-led alliance ultimately could not avoid ignoring the narrative the Opposition was building. Taking a cue from Karnataka and Telangana assembly polls, the Congress stuck to its script. It maintained that the real objective of the 2024 elections was to protect the Constitution, charging that the NDA, by the admission of some of its own MPs, was seeking 400-plus seats to alter the Constitution.
The party combined this attack with two other things. It alleged that if the BJP was voted back to office, it would alter the existing reservation for Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Other Backward Classes. This was supplemented with a promise to carry out a caste survey, which, the INDIA bloc says, would help it recraft welfare schemes and allow an equitable distribution of resources.
It is here that BJP-led parties were swift to join the discourse, prompted by concerns that the Opposition's 'Constitution change' claim was getting traction and that the perception needed to be countered. The BJP launched a counter-offensive, with leaders, including PM Modi, reminding the electorate about the changes to the Constitution made by past Congress governments. It also alleges that the Congress would scrap reservation for SC/STs to facilitate affirmative action for Muslims.
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The Opposition is seeking to pin the BJP down largely on bread-and-butter issues like price rise and unemployment. The alliance also promises to scrap the controversial Agniveer scheme if it comes to power.
Ironically though, a few other challenges that the world faces today are either missing from manifestos or are low-priority. This is true for all parties. For instance, there is little conversation about, say, global warming and the need to develop a green economy, or about tackling Artificial Intelligence. Parties should have outlined at least a basic plan for dealing with these issues, but they remain far removed from any serious discussion.
(K.V. Prasad is a senior Delhi-based journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author