PM Modi turns party leader  

Narendra Modi’s first visit to Telangana State as the country’s Prime Minister had a clear agenda. It was made known in unequivocal terms. In a silent way, he virtually set in motion the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Mission 2019’. Modi’s visit has invigorated the rank and file of the party that gets evidenced by the huge turnout to his public meeting in Hyderabad straight from the visit to Gajwel. With his oratorical skills he spoke about everything from saffron revolution to white revolution and justified it saying that saffron revolution implies going about the Centre’s endeavour to ensure that every house gets power.

He sent a clear message that BJP should reach out to every doorstep. He enthused the party men, who had assembled there that in them he was the future of the party. He added pep and verve and bolstered their spirits while contending that in his eyes the workers representing the cadre right from the booth-level were the high command, whose interests and well-being were paramount. Modi who had launched his election campaign from Hyderabad three years back has sounded the bugle for the next elections three years prior to the scheduled time.

Notwithstanding the rousing reception the state government had given to the Prime Minister, Modi had made it very clear that the BJP aims to come to power in the State by 2019. If, by any chance, they miss that goal, they should at least emerge as the main opposition is what he urged the State wing to aspire for. Modi virtually reeled out the details of what the NDA government has done during last three years, what he had achieved during his foreign visits and explained how the government cares for the downtrodden and backward classes.

“War karna hai tho mujhpe keejiye mere garib bhaiyon pe nahi. Goli chalini hai tho mujhpe chaliye,” he said in an emotion-filled tone giving a clear indication of the emphasis of the party for the next three years. The BJP agenda is to win over the Backward Classes. He gave a call to the party workers to move forward with ‘sab ka saath sab ka vikas’. Modi’s visit has cleared all speculations that the BJP might move closer to TRS so that it can retain its hold in the South even if it has to bid good bye to its alliance partner TDP in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Modi made his visit purely official and his speech was a measured one admiring the work of the government. Though Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had put forward the demand for grant of national project, Modi was non-committal. His speech was nothing more than a routine one by a Prime Minister appreciating a state government and its works. He was smart enough to mention that the TRS government had drawn its inspiration for Mission Bhagiratha from Gujarat. The tone of the BJP public meeting at L B stadium was set right from the minute Modi reached the venue as the state BJP president gave a fiery speech and made the intentions of the saffron party abundantly clear.

He minced no words in saying that the BJP would spare no efforts to come to power in Telangana by 2019. However, his Cabinet colleague Bandaru Dattatreya sought to strike a balance while saying that the party would emerge as an alternative to TRS. Political circles feel that Modi has set the tone and tenor to strengthen the party position in Telangana State. He urged the party workers to reach out to the masses using two-wheelers so that they can easily connect with the voters and win them over.

Modi’s official public meeting can be summed up as he came, he saw and left while for the party it was ‘he came, he saw and gave a clarion call to the rank and file. In a way, he wanted the rank and file to take the party to new political heights by starting the spade work now and consolidate the gains over the next three years.

By V RAMU SARMA