Report card: BJP's 2024 campaign mantra

The party campaigning over the past 10 years has been themed around Brand Modi.

- NIVEDITA MOOKER

But the messaging has changed. NIVEDITA MOOKERJI explains T aglines ranging from "Abki Baar Modi Sarkar" to "Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar" capture the 10-year journey of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with Theme Modi at the centre of it all. Against that backdrop, political watchers, analysts, and party insiders interpret the BJP's standout messaging in the 2024 election campaign and how it compares with the previous two Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.

A BJP insider, who did not want to be named, described the party's 2014 campaign as aggressive and combative. It showcased what's possible riding on the Gujarat model of performance at a time when policy paralysis under the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government was a talking point. Back then, the message that was put forward was this: "What Gujarat had done and India could not do...."

When the BJP went into the 2019 polls, it had lost many states and the impact of the demonetisation exercise of 2016 could still be felt. "Then Pulwama and Balakot happened...," the person quoted above said, explaining the factors that helped the BJP in 2019. He pointed out that in 2024, it's all about visible and tangible transformation, as against claims. "This election will be based on a report card of great delivery by the party," he summed up.