THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

PM MODI AND THE BJP KNOW THAT THE CRUCIAL STATE ELECTIONS THIS YEAR WILL SET THE MOMENTUM FOR THE BIG BATTLE IN 2024. MEANWHILE, OTHER NIGGLES HAVE TO BE IRONED OUT, INCLUDING INTERNAL FACTIONAL FEUDS AND LOSSES FROM EX-ALLIES

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

The events of the past few weeks have been a testing time for the country's ruling party, what with the crony capitalism charges against the Adanis and a damning BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. But, as always, the fightback has been led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, starting off with his speeches in both houses of Parliament during the motion of thanks to the President's address. Political analysts have focused on one line from it"Desh dekh raha hai, ek akela kitnon pe bhari padh raha hai (The country is watching how one man alone has taken on so many)" to get a sense of the course the PM's party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is likely to take in the run-up to the 2024 general election. The vaunted BJP poll machine is a feat in itself, but they believe it'll finally boil down to how well the party can sell the 'Modi vs the Others' narrative if it is to get a third consecutive term in power.

A few days before the Hindenburg report on Adani Entreprises created havoc, the INDIA TODAY-CVoter Mood of the Nation survey saw PM Modi's approval ratings at a high of 72 per cent. The same survey suggested that the BJP may bag 284 seats in the 543-member lower house of Parliament if elections were to be held today. Riding on this, the BJP leadership has set an improbable target for itself, crossing the halfway mark on the vote share tab in 2024, a feat no political party has managed in all these years. In 2019, the BJP had got 37.3 per cent of the popular vote. That belief, though, may have taken a slight hit after the Hindenburg report on Adani and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's pointed attacks in Parliament, which necessitated PM Modi's rejoinder.

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