Who will win UP for BJP? Is it ‘One Man Army’ PM Modi?

Is the BJP entrusting too much responsibility on PM Narendra Modi to win votes for the party in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls?

New Delhi, Feb 24: In the high-voltage Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2017, one thing is pretty clear--the Bharatiya Janata Party has once again fallen back to its star campaigner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to win votes.

We saw how brilliantly PM Modi captured the imagination of one and sundry during the Lok Sabha polls of 2014. It was 'Modi Wave' that helped the BJP to win the elections with a thumping majority and formed government at the Centre.

On Thursday, when the election results of the local body polls of Maharashtra were announced, once again the PM was credited for the BJP's win. Most of the state and the central leaders praised PM Modi for the party's victory after the 'controversial' implementation of demonetisation of high-value currency notes last year.

Thus every victory of the BJP--no matter where--be it in Assam assembly elections last year or recent Odisha local body polls-it's the 'Modi factor' that garner votes for the BJP. Or, that is what the party seems to believe.

Once again, PM Modi has been entrusted to win votes for the BJP in UP. In the last few days, PM Modi has been vigorously campaigning across the state, taking on directly the might of local parties--the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

What if BJP has no chief ministerial face, it has PM Modi

The saffron party did not care to announce its chief ministerial candidate before the start of polling process in the state. The BJP in UP has several local powerful leaders who aspire to become the CM, if the party comes to power. Political pundits say the party did not want to upset one leader by favouring another in the state. The BJP played it safe, as experts indicate. Or, they don't need any local leader to approach the voters.

"We have Modi, we don't need anyone," as a local BJP worker says. Even in most television interviews, the voters who admitted that they would vote for the BJP or have already voted for the BJP in UP, they have one reason to do so: PM Modi.
When asked why they support the BJP, the voters have one simple reason--'We want UP to be under the care of Modi ji'.

One man party: Is it a dangerous sign?

After the demise of former CM of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, we witnessed how a bitter war of succession within the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam brought political stalemate in the state. It happened as Amma was in total control of the party with nobody 'as powerful as her' to replace her 'vacant seat'.

The BJP has several well-known faces, like Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley, to name a few. But, are they as powerful and popular like Modi? It is a question the answer of which the BJP has to find out soon, in order to avoid any sort of power struggle within its rank and file.

OneIndia News