JOIN USCornered BJP polishes its trump card, 'Brand Modi', as he turns 71
Facing flak for its Covid-19 response and a flagging economy, the BJP has turned to its trump card Prime Minister Narendra Modi by launching three-week celebrations to mark his 71st birthday on Friday.
The burnishing of ‘Brand Modi’ comes ahead of the elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur – early next year and amid a backlash faced by the BJP over the farmers’ protests over the three farm laws.
Modi, through a highly personalised campaign, rode to power with a clear majority in 2014 and won a larger mandate in 2019. The BJP came to power in several states post 2014 on the back of campaigns revolving around the Prime Minister’s personal charisma.
However, of late the sheen around Modi appears to be fading with electoral setbacks in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and a slender victory in Bihar. The upcoming elections are crucial for the BJP, if it has to retain power at the Centre in 2024.
BJP workers marked the occasion by encouraging people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, distributing free food grains to the poor, and blood donation camps under the ‘Seva aur Samarpan Abhiyan’ from September 17 to October 7 – the day Modi became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.
BJP President J P Nadda hailed Modi as a ‘social reformer’ whose single call united a nation to achieve tough goals.
“It has been the belief of our prime minister that the benefits of development should reach the last person of the society. Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, politics of casteism and appeasement has been replaced by politics of development,” Nadda said.
Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, launched the ‘Nav Bharat Mela’ that include blood donation drives, cleanliness campaigns at temples, lakes and rivers and symposia on the national transformation under the leadership of Modi.
Various BJP-ruled governments had announced mega vaccination drives and the impact was visible as the number of jabs administered had crossed the 2.22 crore mark at 7:30 p.m.
An exhibition on Modi’s journey as an administrator – 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat and seven years as prime minister – was inaugurated at the BJP headquarters here.
The government also commenced an auction of mementos received by the Prime Minister, including the javelin of Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, badminton racquets of P V Sindhu, boxing gloves of Lovlina Borgohain among others. The proceeds from the auction will go to the Namami Gange Mission.
Earlier, greetings poured in for Modi from across the country with President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, senior ministers, chief ministers and opposition leaders wishing him on his 71st birthday.
“527 vaccinations per second today. Breathtaking...,” B L Santhosh, BJP national general secretary (organisation), said.
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