Homework | A Confident PM, G20 & Chandrayaan Success, Economy Up, Poverty Down: Why 2024 is BJP’s to Win

A Prime Minister confident of a big win in 2024, given the mood of positivity and optimism in the country and people having much to celebrate about given the success around G20, Chandrayaan and the economy – this seemed to reflect in Narendra Modi’s words in a long interview to the PTI.

Seven months before the PM seeks a third term from the people, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) sense of invincibility reflects from the electorate’s desire for a strong and stable government. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance met in Mumbai and resolved to fight the elections together “as far as possible” and on the principle of “give-and-take”, but no decision on the convener, leader, logo or common minimum programme could be unveiled even after three meetings of the alliance. Such terminology helps the BJP which feels people will not place their bets on such an alliance which neither has its house in order nor can offer the stability like the Modi-led government has over the past nine years.

PM Modi seemed to stress on the same when he, in his interview, said it was the political stability of nine years that led to reforms, growth and development, and that the international community was also convinced that India’s progress was not an accident. Incidentally, when Narendra Modi took the national plunge in 2014, the only record he had to show was his performance as Gujarat’s Chief Minister. People did not know him nationally, but gave him a big mandate. In 2019, the mandate was even bigger, given Modi’s performance on the key issues of national security and welfare of the poor through schemes such as free LPG connections and houses.

WHY MODI IS EVEN STRONGER IN 2024

Come 2024, Modi has much more going for him. There are successes which he can speak about at the global level. India is now the fastest growing economy in the world and the latest GDP numbers are testimony to it. There have been other ‘positive’ developments such as the historic success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission by landing on the moon, the launch of the Aditya L1 Mission towards the sun, and the successful conduct of India’s G20 Presidency whose highlight will be the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi this week. Also, a recent NITI Aayog report said 13.5 crore Indians moved out of the poverty net in the past five years. More so, an SBI report showed three-fold jump in weighted mean income of tax-payers since 2014.

“For a long time, India was perceived as a nation of over 1 billion hungry stomachs. But now, India is being seen as a nation of over 1 billion aspirational minds, more than 2 billion skilled hands, and hundreds of millions of young people,” PM Modi said in his most significant comment in the PTI interview.

The five-day special session of Parliament later this month could be the occasion to celebrate all the above-mentioned successes that mark the beginning of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ and the transition to the new building of the Parliament.

India’s global stature has grown with PM’s key visits to the US and France, while the landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission on the moon during PM’s visit to South Africa dominated the BRICS summit. When people were in a bit of a bother due to the LPG prices, Modi intervened and a Rs-200 cut was announced.

So why would people then not vote for Modi for a third term? The answer seems hard to come by with Modi in pole position to be the PM again.