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There is a reason why he is referred to as the Chanakya of modern-day politics, and, of course, that was on display again, as after losing some ground in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP was able to turn around its fortunes, first in the…Read More
As the BJP’s national president earlier, Amit Shah led the party to victory in regions where it had never expected major success. (File image/PTI)
The year 2024 did not exactly get underway how the BJP would have liked, especially with the April-June Lok Sabha elections handing the saffron party just 240 seats, causing an alliance-led government to take power at the Centre.
In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat also saw the party’s performance dip, as it lost one seat after winning all 26 in both 2014 and 2019.
But the saying that when the going gets tough, the tough get going holds true for the saffron party’s chief crisis manager, Amit Shah. There is a reason why he is referred to as the Chanakya of modern-day politics, and, of course, that was on display again, as the BJP was able to turn around its fortunes, first in the assembly polls of Haryana, followed by the big win in Maharashtra.
Many people had written off the BJP in the northern state of Haryana, where, at one point, the opposition Congress looked all set to snatch power. However, Amit Shah took upon himself the responsibility of making the BJP victorious in Haryana. As always, the booth-level reach-out strategy was able to yield brilliant results as the saffron party practically swept the polls on its own. For that election, Amit Shah had deputed his close associate Dharmendra Pradhan, and in Maharashtra, another trusted colleague Bhupendra Yadav was handed the reins. Similarly, Shah’s close associate Himanta Biswa Sarma was asked to manage the elections in the eastern state of Jharkhand. The results here, however, did not go in favour of the saffron party.
BJP general secretaries Sunil Bansal and Vinod Tawde, known to be very close to Amit Shah, have also held dynamic roles in the organisation. Tawde will handle the key assembly polls in Bihar in 2025, and Bansal, who apparently knows the politics of Uttar Pradesh like the back of his hand, was given the responsibility of Odisha, which delivered fantastic results.
Shah, who is an objective politician, did not leave anything to chance and held meetings across the organisation from the booth level onwards to ensure electoral outcomes in favour of the party.
Micromanagement by Shah, from the campaign to the vision document, gave many newcomers in the party a close look at his organisational skills. It was a daunting task to lead the alliance to victory in an important state like Maharashtra, with the Lok Sabha elections not having delivered the desired results here. But, apart from ensuring an agreement on the distribution of seats, Amit Shah also played a crucial role in taking alliance partners, especially Eknath Shinde’s party, on board for the allocation of posts and portfolios.
One of the biggest challenges for the union home minister was undoubtedly conducting peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a promise made by the BJP-led government at the Centre. The abrogation of Article 370 sections, spearheaded by Shah, was followed by a big challenge for the union government, and that was to ensure an elected government came to power. Deeply invested in the welfare of the union territory, along with knowing the nuances of the security establishment, the home minister played a big role in ensuring peaceful elections in J&K.
Ensuring peace in the northeastern state of Manipur has been a nettlesome issue for the government, which has seen the home minister’s personal intervention. Engaging with both the Meiteis and the Kukis, the home minister has a watchful eye on Manipur, giving the BJP confidence that peace will eventually prevail in the state.
As the BJP’s national president earlier, Amit Shah led the party to victory in regions where it had never expected major success. He prompted the saffron party’s victory in Tripura, where the BJP was able to form a government after ending two and a half decades of Left rule.
Often in conversations with the media, Amit Shah would say that his leadership would not be successful unless he could help his party win states like West Bengal and Odisha. A part of his dream came true with the BJP forming a government with an overwhelming majority in Odisha in 2024.
As another election for the party’s top post nears, BJP workers, given an opportunity, would no doubt propose Shah’s name again.
However, it is unlikely that Shah would return as BJP national president, as he has his hands full with the responsibilities of home minister and minister of cooperation in the union government. JP Nadda earlier took over the party’s reins from Amit Shah, and in the last three years, he has had mixed fortunes electorally. During his tenure, the BJP was able to form a government with a massive mandate in Uttar Pradesh. However, the saffron party also lost the assembly elections in the party president’s home state, Himachal Pradesh. But Shah and Nadda have worked together as a team. From taking calls on organisational appointments to alliances, they have struck up a solid understanding.
The search for a new party president is quite a daunting one. Several names have been doing the rounds. However, many agree that the biggest challenge for anyone would be to fill the shoes of the big man from Gujarat.
