Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and appeal is leading BJP’s impending victory in the three Hindi heartland states -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
It is significant that the BJP did not project potential chief ministerial candidates in these three states, but had fought the polls on Brand Modi’s guarantee.
While state polls are typically led by regional leaders and contested on local issues, the Prime Minister has been the BJP’s star campaigner, criss-crossing the country on helicopter to fill a busy schedule of back-to-back rallies, Financial Times reported.
“People trust Modi,” said Kailash Vijayvargiya, a BJP spokesperson who is contesting from the Indore 1 seat in Madhya Pradesh.
“If [Modi] can win state elections for the BJP, naturally when he contests for the Prime Minister's again, it will have a greater impact on people . . . National elections will be an easy win," he said, Financial Times reported.
The BJP has sought to turn the state elections into a referendum on Modi, betting that the Prime Minister’s popularity will neutralise challengers and set it on a strong footing to clinch a third term in the general elections due next year, Financial Times reported.
The BJP has won Madhya Pradesh even after being in power for 20 years, and now MP is being projected as the next Gujarat model state.
With victories in three big states, the BJP has crushed the confidence of the Opposition which is trying to stitch an alliance.
As things stand, Brand Modi appears unassailable in the Indian political landscape and the curiosity for next year’s Lok Sabha polls may only be limited to the magnitude of BJP’s victory.