New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) looks comfortably set for a second term in office, with another ‘Modi wave’ drowning the opposition parties again, but the prime minister may have reasons to be anxious.
The Balakot air strikes against Pakistan to ‘avenge’ the Pulwama terror attack helped the Modi government to paper over its failures on the economic front — adverse impact of demonetisation, joblessness, sluggish exports and manufacturing, lack of private investment and farm distress, among others.
But these issues are set to trouble Modi in his second term, which will test his administrative and political acumen more than it ever did during the 18 years he has been in power in Ahmedabad and Delhi.
That’s why if Modi 1.0 was all about bluster and bombast, with politics dictating governance, Modi 2.0 could be just the other way around — circumspect, measured and delivery-oriented.
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The 2019 Lok Sabha election results have one message written all over: That voters want to be led by a strong leader and they are fed up with identity politics.
The opposition parties played into Modi’s hands by playing on his strength and singling him out for attack, making it a Modi versus the rest personality contest.
The Congress party’s promises to review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and sedition laws only helped the BJP to raise the nationalist pitch. Worse, there were few takers for Rahul Gandhi’s doles such as NYAY or the minimum guaranteed income of Rs 6,000 per month.
The opposition parties were found clueless about what weighed on people’s minds as they kept harping on the alleged Rafale scam, something nobody seemed to bother about on the ground.
Also read: Pulwama-Balakot helps Modi in polls — issues of farmers, jobs, Rafale don’t exist anymore
Midway through his first term, Modi had shifted the goalpost, promising a ‘New India’ in 2022, when farmers’ income would be doubled, every Indian would have a house and amenities and everyone’s aspirations would be fulfilled.
Now that people have given Modi a renewed mandate to fulfil all these promises on the 75th anniversary of the country’s Independence, he has an unenviable task at hand.
In carrying out this responsibility, however, the prime minister is likely to face a lot of hurdles, most of his own creation. In its 2019 manifesto, the BJP has promised to repeal Article 35A, which gives special rights to Jammu & Kashmir’s permanent residents, and Article 370.
Besides, the Supreme Court is seized with the contentious Ayodhya Ram temple issue and a verdict is expected during Modi’s second term. These are all politically sensitive issues and the prime minister will be confronted with all of them at a time when he will be required to focus on the economy.
How he deals with these challenges would define not just his second term but also his legacy.
Also read: No Ram tourism, jobs or development — Ayodhya is still waiting for BJP to fulfill promises