The high-voltage campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections came to an end on Thursday evening, setting the stage for the seventh and final phase of polling on June 1.
Now, all eyes would be on the Exit Poll results, slated for June 1, for an understanding on the likely poll outcome and then on the counting day (June 4), when the people mandate will show whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government gets record third term or not.
Amid the Congress’ battle-cry to oust Modi government from power and latter’s resolve to return for third record time, what has caught the attention of political pundits and analysts is the poll plank of parties, particularly the BJP in three elections — 2014, 2019 and 2024.
In all these elections, BJP’s election machinery overwhelmed the Congress campaign, and PM Modi’s appeal and charisma served as the key pivot.
The high-pitch poll campaign was centred around PM Modi. The Opposition failed to mount a challenge.
In all three elections, it was PM Modi-driven campaign that resonated with the public.
In 2014, ‘Abki baar Modi Sarkar’ proved too strong a slogan for Congress as the BJP acquired an absolute majority on its own while the Congress got reduced to double digits.
In 2019, Congress looked better placed, and its poll slogans also saw resonance among the public, but PM Modi turned the tables at one stroke.
His slogan of ‘Main bhi Chowkidaar’ stole the Congress thunder and resulted in the biggest ever victory for the BJP, with the latter winning 303 seats on its own.
In 2024, a rejuvenated Congress under the INDIA bloc is again seeking to upset the BJP’s applecart, but poll experts don’t see it coming to fruition.
‘Abki baar 400 paar’, coined by the Prime Minister, once again has struck the right chord with the public, while Congress’ tall promises of ‘paanch nyays and twenty-five guarantees’ failing to strike the popular public perception, as the optics suggest.
Overall, the bluster of Congress and its allies have largely failed to yield magic in all three elections, and it is PM Modi’s defining agenda which has reigned supreme over every poll pitch.