New Delhi: It seems that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a worried lot after Congress president Rahul Gandhi recently announced the mega sop of endowing the poor with Rs 6,000 per month if voted to power. According to sources, an internal analysis undertaken by the BJP showed that the latest poll promise of the Congress party could have an impact on 30 Lok Sabha seats, especially where the majority of the electorate is farmers.
From the election point of view, the airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot had emboldened the BJP, as the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and demolished the terrorist camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) inside Pakistan.
In fact, soon after the airstrikes in Balakot, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceitedly positioned himself as ‘desh ka chowkidar’ who would protect the country from all threats. His image as a strong nationalist too took a boost, an India Today report said.
It was widely believed that the airstrikes in Balakot would have worked to the BJP’s advantage ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. However, the impact of the airstrikes was short-lived.
The recent internal analysis undertaken by the party reveals that NYAY (Nyuntam Ayay Yojana), the poll sop announced by Rahul Gandhi promising Rs 72,000 annually to five crore poorest families, could have an impact on 30 seats. The BJP apprehends that it may lose these seats to Congress at the ensuing hustings.
A senior party functionary told the media, “Following the Balakot airstrikes, we were hopeful of winning anything between 230 and 240 seats, but now we are virtually down by about 30 seats.”
The impact of NYAY on the voting pattern is likely to be strongest in Chhattisgarh. In fact, the BJP lost the state to Congress in the recently held Assembly elections and is now apprehending a complete wipeout there. Aside Chhattisgarh, the party may also fare badly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand as well as some of southern states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh due to the impact of the proposed NYAY scheme.
On the other hand, the party feels that the impact of NYAY scheme will be the least in Uttar Pradesh. BJP is of the view that despite farmers’ distress, the electorate in Uttar Pradesh will vote on the basis of caste and identity.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. In addition, the party had secured all the 25 seats in Rajasthan; 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand; 27 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and 10 of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh.
According to sources, the BJP is delaying the release of its poll manifesto with a view to incorporate a counter to the NYAY scheme so that the narrative shifts in its favour.
Agencies
