Modi may have an edge over Congress today, but...........then why Neerja suspects the electoral battlefield .................?
Development, nationalism-cum-Hindutva and a strong leadership are the three strands that make up Narendra Modi's mantra for 2014. This is the message of Modi's high-on-rhetoric and no-holds-barred campaign in just over two weeks since he was declared the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. He has also sharpened his attack against the Gandhi family, saying that the battle was now between "dynasty" and "democracy", the "prince and his whims" and the "Constitution" of India.
Rightly or wrongly, the perception is gaining ground that his "Gujarat model" has worked and he is a man who can deliver.
(*India Honest quotes, even a die hard Congressman Jagan Reddy of YSR Congress has admired Modi's administration and governance qualities.*)
As he moved into the Hindi heartland, Modi was expected to raise emotive issues and he played the nationalist card to the hilt at his Delhi rally last Sunday — Manmohan Singh had "marketed India's poverty" (not clear how), that corruption in the Commonwealth Games was about loss of India's honour, that the Pakistan premier could not get away with "daring" to call the Indian prime minister a "village woman", even though, as it turned out, Modi relied on an unsubstantiated remark by a Pakistani journalist.
*India Honest suggests NC must make some plus minus adjustments in mapping chart : "Instant Coffee Era" , one must react to the spot news :
**Geo TV anchor Hamid told a Pakistan channel that "Unka ye khayal hai ki Manmohan Singh kamzor hai aur Rahul Gandhi ne unke saath kal jo kiya hai, uske baad Manmohan Singh sa'ab ki credibility India may kaafi kharab ho gayi hai. Wo ab position mein nahin hai ki Pakistan ke saath koi bada breakthrough kare. Mir added that Sharif did not seem hopeful of his meeting with Singh, and is now waiting for the new government in India next year to do business.
**Reactions to Sharif’s comments were more of disbelief to national outrage and the BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi strongly objected,"How dare you (Sharif) address my nation's Prime Minister as a village woman? There cannot be a bigger insult of the Indian Prime Minister.......... We can fight with him on policies but this we will not tolerate......... its Prime Minister's insult,......even said: "The journalists who were sitting in front of Nawaz Sharif when he was insulting our Prime Minister should also answer to the people ....................who were having sweets sitting with Nawaz Sharif when he was abusing our Prime Minister calling him village woman, I expected .............them, to refuse the sweets and walk out,"
Even as Modi went for the broad strokes, on the ground his confidante Amit Shah sent reassuring signals to the party's core constituency, soon after he took over as BJP general secretary in charge of UP, that the temple remained a part of the party's agenda. At the same time, polarisation is taking place in western UP after the communal conflagration in Muzaffarnagar, and now in Meerut. In the Jat-Muslim divide, the Jats are gravitating to the BJP.
What is going for India's most controversial "PMP" (prime ministerial possible) is an anger against Congress rule and a desire for change. Since taking over as the party's campaign chief in Goa, his pan-India appeal has grown, and this is obviously the first phase of his strategy. His political oratory and ability to sway audiences have helped. So have his crack PR teams and the use of technology and social media. His rallies are drawing a large number of young people. Besides, Modi has the complete backing of corporate India.
*India Honest suggests NC must make some plus minus adjustments in mapping chart :
a) incumbency factor for Congress; b) on chair PM reluctance to continue for next term; c) India's PM Singh said, "I have always maintained that Rahul Gandhiji will be an ideal choice for the prime minister's position after the 2014 elections. I would be very happy to work for Congress party under the leadership of Rahulji." d) projection of Rahul without confirmation from CWC(still in doubt?)......more and more adjustment marking till ..................Yes she may be half wrong.