Over the last 10 days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-voltage campaign in Karnataka has led to a perceptible shift in momentum in favour of the BJP. PM Modi’s rallies and roadshows have seen massive crowds, underscoring both his popularity and positive impact of his policies implemented successfully by the state government.
MODI INSPIRES TRUST AMONG VOTERS
After travelling through the Old Mysuru and Kalyan-Karnataka regions for a couple of days, I saw silent voters, no wave for any party and no one coming out openly to support the state government. Anti-incumbency was visible along with the Congress narrative of a corrupt Basavaraj Bommai government.
But one thing was common in all the regions, be it rural or urban, or any caste group or age demographic — that was PM Modi’s name and the success of his schemes. Once the prime minister, the star campaigner and one whom the common man in Karnataka admires and trusts the most formally entered the election campaign on April 28, things started changing.
MODI’S ROAD SHOWS A GAME CHANGER
The first road show of the prime minister in Bengaluru South proved to be a game changer. A six-kilometre-long road show that criss-crossed six assembly constituencies started the process of change in the narrative. The Old Mysuru to Bengaluru region has always been dominated by JDS and Deve Gowda. However, this time, the entire stretch of the road show was covered by the aam aadmi. Talking to them made one thing clear to me that trust on PM Modi is the only factor that is consolidating votes for the BJP.
The very next day, I was again covering PM’s road show in Mysuru where I came across more than 150 musicians who were the traditional court musicians of Maharajas of Mysore. There were old, young and women musicians who had assembled only to take a look at PM Modi.
After the road show, I sat with them and talked about their conditions. The musicians came from remote areas but were aware of the schemes of the Centre. For the young musicians, PM Modi is a hero.
MODI’S DOUBLE ENGINE SARKAR HAS FOUND NEW TAKERS
PM Modi, party president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and party leaders are focusing on the double engine government. This has resulted in increased positive traction and amplification of the double engine sarkar narrative. The positive messaging of the prime minister and other national/state leaders has found resonance amongst voters.
There seems to exist a quiet wave of support building up amongst voters who are acknowledging that Karnataka has made significant progress on a number of fronts primarily due to the state and central governments working in harmony.
Compared to other Opposition-ruled states, Karnataka has seen significantly better implementation of flagship welfare schemes. This has had a large positive impact amongst rural voters in Kalyana and Kittur Karnataka.
PM MODI’S CENTRAL SCHEMES MAKE POSITIVE IMPACT
Rural cohorts acknowledge the electrification of hitherto un-electrified villages. Nearly 3.56 lakh households have been electrified through the Saubhagya Yojana. The unprecedented success of the Jal Jeevan Mission has seen 39 lakh new tap water connections. The provision of 7.37 lakh free LPG connections through the Ujjwala Yojana and 46 lakh new toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission have led to women indicating a marked preference for the BJP.
IMPACT OF PM MODI’S SCHEMES
The presence of a double engine government has also resulted in a big push for infrastructure projects that were stalled under the Congress and the BJP has successfully communicated this to voters.
The completion of the Bidar-Kalaburgi railway line, the initiation of the Bengaluru suburban railway project, the completion of the long-pending Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway, expedition of the 411-km Bidar-Kalaburgi-Bellari Highway and construction of more than 6,000 kilometres of rural roads in the state have helped the party garner support from both urban and rural voters.
Positive industry sentiment has led to Karnataka attracting FDI worth Rs 3.21 lakh crore and a 221 per cent increase in creation of formal jobs.
The contentment amongst farmers is also visible. A total of 54 lakh farmers in the state receive Rs 10,000 annually as part of the PM KISAN Samman Nidhi and the state government’s PM-KISAN. The accelerated progress of the Upper Bhadra and Upper Krishna projects has also created a positive sentiment amongst farmers.
OTHER THEMES
Apart from Brand Modi and its effect, the party has worked tirelessly in the last one month on some major themes. The message of social justice given to Lingayats, Vokkaligas and the Dalit community by giving them reservation after withdrawing the four per cent reservation for Muslims has worked in the party’s favour. The BJP manifesto also promised to continue this reservation policy. The social engineering among the Dalit Left and other communities is going to be beneficial for the party.
The BJP manifesto also promised a common civil code for the state and constitution of a high-powered committee, utilising Brand Hindutva for votes. The chants of ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ have also begun in Karnataka. In some of the rallies around Davangere, when Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Ram Mandir, he received a thunderous applause. Top BJP leaders left no stone unturned to visit different Mutts and seek blessings of seers.
This is why the BJP strategists are now confident of crossing 110 seats in the state, riding on the silent wave of Brand Modi.
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