coalition government: Allies happy, Modi tallest leader: BJP in pep talk to cadre

BJP is holding state-level review meetings to assess its Lok Sabha seat losses. A central leader supervises and inspires party members at each meeting as the party seeks to reassure workers that the fewer seats are due to external factors and that the party will do well in the future. Party leaders told ET that publicising deficiencies would lead to a blame game, pitting one leader against the other, which would hurt the party.

Among the topics frequently brought up during these meetings are:

Opposition’s ‘Lies’ on Constitution:
BJP national president JP Nadda participated in the UP BJP extended executive meeting where he said the Opposition spread lies on the Constitution. Nadda said that BJP workers should tell the people how the Congress played with the Constitution and that the BJP always protected the Constitution. The Constitution issue is being highlighted by the BJP at all the meetings.

Foreign Powers Involved
This was first mentioned during the Rajasthan executive meeting by Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state election in-charge Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. On Sunday, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also mentioned this as a possible reason for the party’s performance.

Congress grew on Allies’ Strength
The BJP is also taking note of the upbeat mood among Congress leaders and workers. Apart from taking their Lok Sabha tally to 99, the Congress did better than the BJP in the recent assembly by-polls. The central leadership is trying to dismiss the Congress increase in Lok Sabha numbers as fluke. Nadda on Sunday said that the Congress grew at the expense of its allies, and it has a success rate of 26% in a direct contest with the BJP. Prime Minister Modi used the word ‘parasite’ for the Congress and now every leader is trying to convince BJP workers that their (Congress workers’) joy is short lived, and that the BJP will bounce back.

PM Modi still most popular leader
BJP is also advocating strongly about the leadership of PM Modi maintaining that he is the most popular leader in the country. BJP leaders are reminding party workers that becoming the PM of India for the third consecutive time is no small feat. BJP leaders said on Sunday that PM Modi’s X account had 100 million followers, much more than any other leader in the world.

NDA Partners Firmly With BJP
With BJP numbers sinking below the majority mark, there is always this speculation about whether the government would complete its full term. Party leaders are convincing workers across the country that this government is as strong as it used to be in 2014 and 2019 and the allies were completely behind PM Modi in every decision. The approach with alliance partners is more positive than it used to be and coordination among the NDA partners is being ensured at all levels. The allies too were supportive of the government approach and its stand on different issues. The JDU welcomed the announcement of June 25 to be observed as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’.