Gujarat Elections: How the Modi factor helped saffron party amass a record victory

Blessed with the gift of gab, Modi turned personal abuses against him into votes

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Gujarat elections in excess of 150 seats, making it the only party in the state’s electoral history to win such huge numbers.

The stellar performance by the BJP has earned it a myriad records. First, it is the only party in the western state’s electoral annals to have won most seats. It broke the Congress’s record of 149 in the 1985 Assembly elections.

The saffron party has also bettered its own record of 127 seats in 2002 Assembly elections. Thirdly, it joins the Left Front in the elite list of ruling a state for 30 years and more.

Also Read: How the BJP campaigned in Gujarat

The laurels for such a stunning score have to rest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Never the one to shy away from meeting the electorate in whatever way possible, Modi ensured he connected with the masses, leaving a lasting impression.

Highly placed sources told Deccan Herald that out of the 31 rallies which the prime minister held, they concentrated on such areas where the BJP didn’t have a strong presence.

Additionally, these rallies also covered all the districts in the state.

Also Read: BJP cruises to wins in Morbi and Godhra despite bridge collapse tragedy, Bilkis Bano verdict

An energetic and ebullient Modi also held two long roadshows in the state, garnering - as per sources - more than 10 lakh supporters. Modi was able to strike a palpable chord with the electorate with this exercise.

Blessed with the gift of gab and excellent oratory skills, the prime minister never lets go of an opportunity to turn stones into milestones. The needless ‘Ravan’ remark by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and ‘aukaat’ remark by Madhusudhan Mistry were offerings on a platter to the ever-alert prime minister. Using these incendiary remarks, Modi convinced the electorate how the Congress issues ad hominem attacks against him. This surely worked in the party’s favour.

Along with these, Modi successfully spoke to the electorate about the Gujarati asmita. In addition to this, Modi was also smart enough to broach the issues of nationalism and how peaceful the state has been since the infamous 2002 Godhra riots. Quite naturally, the Gujarat electorate finds a lot of sense in such talks.

Apart from these, the party had also worked out its strategy keenly. It is this reason why the page committee was formed. Every page committee was entrusted to meet at least one family member who would then convince other family members to vote for the BJP. In this way, the BJP also managed to reach out to 2 crore voters.