The two-day BJP national executive meeting in New Delhi, held after a long pause and attended by over 300 leaders, had its eminent emphasis on the upcoming elections – for nine state assemblies this year followed quickly by the 2024 Parliament polls. The Party has decided to face the coming polls with JP Nadda at its head. No change of president was contemplated even as his term was set to end soon; the reason being that the “membership campaign for the party could not be done yet due to the Covid-linked restrictions” — a lame excuse at this late hour. Predictably, the party has made it clear it would face the parliament polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its mascot, yet again.
The BJP’s nine-point political resolution, introduced by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, lacked punch as the Party had too little to highlight when it came to the performance of its government. While the governance is overall smooth, economic growth remains slow and the unemployment scenario remains a huge challenge due to lack of momentum in the manufacturing sector – the principal creator of jobs. In an escape act, the resolution targeted the Congress, saying it was out to tarnish the good image of the Prime Minister and the BJP. This, when the Congress party is doing too little to take on the Modi government other than holding a Bharat Jodo Padayatra. The socio-economic resolution praised PM Modi for transforming India into the fifth largest economy, from its old status of being one among the Fragile Five economies. Such claims have little meaning for the common man. The process of growth for India began from the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh era in the 1990s, eventually clocking a growth of nearly 9 per cent. It is down today at less than 6 per cent after a further fall in recent years.
Sugar-coating is a game that’s perfected by all governing establishments. Facts on the ground could be different. Claiming credit for poverty alleviation or the food security steps was rather uncalled for. It was the UPA-II that introduced and implemented the Food Security initiative under which subsidized or free foodgrains were reached to India’s poor via ration shops. UPA’s rural job security scheme helped the poor immensely. The BJP must think anew, but that’s where it has failed. Alternatively, what sells today for the BJP is the Modi image. With the opposition remaining weak and fragmented, many regional satraps lacking credibility, Modi and the BJP can continue to call the shots. The national executive meet failed to resonate with the common man and to inspire hope among the citizenry in the absence of a slew of new decisions and programmes linked to the nation’s overall growth.
