Modi on centre stage for 2024 LS Poll for NDA & Opposition
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 19: Each paragraph in the resolution adopted by the National democratic Alliance in its meeting on Tuesday evening showered glories on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NDA resolution gave out the message that the group has to back Modi against the Opposition attack.
The Opposition has also made it clear that the umbrella alliance of INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) will fightback against Modi. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a quick readjustment pulled out several outfits to shore up the NDA numbers to make a clear spectacle to bring the spotlight on Modi.
The NDA allies came mostly from the North-east, with a few accounting from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Maharashtra. The NDA resolution vowed to work closely to make Modi prime minister of the country for the third term. The resolution richly endorsed the ‘Garib Kalyan’ agenda of the Modi government.
The ‘Garib Kalyan’ agenda translates to the targeted delivery of the welfare schemes of the Modi government, with focus on the people below the poverty line (BPL) to bring them under the ambit of several schemes. The NDA resolution also signaled that the alliance under the saffron umbrella still has faith in the welfare schemes of the Modi government to deliver in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
For the NDA, Modi and his welfarism will be the poll mantra. For the Opposition, Modi-baiting and welfarism on cash transfer plank will be the poll mantra. The Opposition will be borrowing from the Congress success in Karnataka to embark on cash-enabled welfarism, which trumped the high decibel campaign of the BJP in the state with ease, while also taking the sheen out of the Modi-led saffron blitzkrieg.
Modi has sought to arm the NDA with anti-corruption plank and anti-dynasty barb against the Opposition grouping. Ironically, Modi gave a tight hug to Chirag Paswan, son of Ram Vilas Paswan and also a beneficiary of dynastic politics, while the BJP brought the rookie politician hurriedly in the NDA camp to shore up the strength in Bihar.
While the NDA is without big allies, the limelight fell on the likes of Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who proposed the resolution, which was endorsed by K. Palaniswamy (AIADMK) and Atul Bora of the Asom Gana Parishad. Incidentally, the Opposition alliance is crowded with political satraps such as Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Pawar, MK Stalin, Akhilesh Yadav, and others, the NDA looked up to Modi as the lighthouse of the group.
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