Modi government wants IB to prepare and submit detailed reports on the “mood of voters” ahead of the 2019 general elections.
New Delhi: Hassled top functionaries in the Modi government called an urgent meeting of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Tuesday, following the BJP’s defeat in the assembly elections and urged the agency to begin work on “gauging the mood of voters” for 2019, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources, the IB has now been asked to prepare and submit regular and detailed reports to the government on the issues that could determine which way the 2019 general elections will go.
The sources said the top government functionaries have also been asked to analyse previous inputs by the IB to see where they went wrong and build up case studies for the upcoming elections.
“The government now wants to prepare for the upcoming 2019 elections and it does not want to take any risk. This has been conveyed to all party members,” a source said. “Old reports are being dug out and are being analysed and a new strategy is being planned.”
While campaigning was on in the five states, the IB had submitted reports to the Modi government that the unpopularity of outgoing chief minister Vasundhara Raje may go against the BJP in Rajasthan, while in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, anti-incumbency could play a part.
The report had also mentioned that rural distress and unemployment in Chhattisgarh were likely to go against the government.
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‘Part of party introsepction’
A BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said this is part of the party’s introspection following the defeats in the five seats.
“There have been several reasons for the defeat, anti-incumbency being the primary one, but one needs to accept defeat and work towards the next goal which is 2019,” a BJP party member said. “We have already started charting out a strategy with Prime Minister Modi as the central character.”
The leader also argued that losing the elections did not mean that the Modi wave had died down.
“The margins with which we have lost are very minimal, both in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and that too explains a lot,” he said.
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