New Delhi, Jan 21 Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said it was only the “fear” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and comeback that has brought “desperate forces” together.
Referring the Kolkata rally, Mr Jaitley said, “It is obvious that the level of satisfaction with Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi is very high. If that weren’t so, where was the need for multiple disparate forces to come together against him? It is only the fear of his popularity and comeback that is bringing them together.”
Mr Jaitley said this in his blog “Modi vs Chaos” on Facebook, written two days after the Kolkata rally where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hosted a slew of opposition leaders in a significant show of strength ahead of the 2019 general elections.
He said on the surface, it was an anti-Modi rally but more significantly it was also a non-Rahul Gandhi rally.
Calling negativism as the flavor of the rally, the Minister said there was not a single speech reflecting the positive idea which the leaders proposed for the future. Negativism was writ large in their approach. The strategy of each of the four contenders – Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and K Chandrashekhar Rao — is clear.
Taking the probable PM candidates one by one, he said the Didi of West Bengal wanted a combination of the political adventurists to back her. From the ultra-adventurist Delhi Chief Minister to the discards of the BJP, there are not too many takers for her.
He said the Behanji of Uttar Pradesh (Mayawati) has a clear strategy – play it hard to get. She believes that in India, only caste matters. She is clear that this is her only opportunity.
“KCR is presently the exponent of a non-Congress, non-BJP front. Is there a space for any such front today? It remains a doubtful proposition. The individual strategy of each one of the above appears to be the same. Replace Modi and get on to the driver’s seat. The Congress, if it chooses, can at best be the pillion rider.”
Mr Jaitley said the BJP and NDA have to be prepared for a battle for a 50 per cent vote in the direct fight contest. Many states will still witness triangular contests. If a second term for Mr Modi is the issue, it is advantage BJP. The election will be more presidential.
“If negativism is the political campaign in an aspirational nation, it won’t work. If arithmetic is the only hope, the Modi chemistry can prevail over it. People are more intelligent than what many politicians think about them… People want a Five Year Government, not a six month one,” he added.
He said India’s opposition has a two-fold strategy, firstly, negative anti-Modi agenda and secondly, to combine as many political groups together so as to take the best advantage of the electoral arithmetic.
On Saturday, Ms Banerjee hosted a slew of opposition leaders in a significant show of strength ahead of the 2019 general elections. Almost all the key opposition parties, barring the arch-rival Left parties, attended the meet to show a united face against BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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