Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan “Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai” (If we are one, we are safe) and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “Bantoge Toh Katoge” (If we are divided, we will be cut off) have turned the tide in the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, leaving the opposition scrambling to respond. These slogans, which stress unity and warn of the dangers of division, have added an intriguing twist to the ongoing electoral battle.
As the campaigning entered its final phase on Monday, verbal attacks on Prime Minister Modi intensified, signaling that the opposition may have been caught off guard by these powerful messages. In a desperate bid to counter these slogans, opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, and UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, launched scathing attacks on Modi and the BJP, trying to shift the narrative.
The use of Modi and Yogi’s slogans has not only dominated the campaign discourse but also put the opposition on the defensive. The slogans, focusing on national unity and the dangers of fragmentation, have found resonance among voters, leaving little room for the opposition to gain traction in the final stretch of the elections.
When Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Modi’s slogan “If we are one, we are safe,” BJP’s Sambit Patra swiftly responded, launching verbal attacks on Rahul, even referring to him as a “chota parrot.” When questioned about the use of such language, BJP clarified that it was not their own remark but a statement made by Balasaheb Thackeray in an interview, which they had simply reiterated. Reports from both states indicate a highly charged atmosphere, with no clear predictions emerging about which party or alliance will secure a majority.
As the campaigning entered its final phase on Monday, verbal attacks on Prime Minister Modi intensified, signaling that the opposition may have been caught off guard by these powerful messages.
As initially predicted, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was expected to benefit in Maharashtra and come close to forming the government. However, the election campaign strategy of the BJP and its allies turned the race into a fiercely contested battle. Prime Minister Modi’s and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s slogans brought a new dimension to the election, shifting the focus to Hindutva. This strategy appears to have put the opposition on the defensive, with BJP successfully polarizing the election in both states.
The way the opposition tried to turn the election towards caste in the last phase of the election also strengthened the fact that the election is stuck. Rahul Gandhi, in his PC in Jharkhand, has once again played the card of backward politics in a way by emphasizing on caste census. Along with this, taking a dig at PM Modi, one of his allies is So, the slogan ‘we are safe’ was linked to Adani and Ambani and BJP was attacked.
Congress senior leader and president Mallikarjun Kharge compared the BJP and RSS to poison, even saying, “When a snake bites, it is killed—kill such a poisonous snake.” In response to Yogi Adityanath’s slogan, “If we are divided, we will bite,” Uddhav Thackeray retorted, “If Mumbai is attacked, we will bite.”
The opposition also tried to frame the election as a battle between Gujaratis and Maharashtrians, using every strategy in the final phase to turn the tide in their favor.
These efforts came while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was abroad, on a tour of Nigeria and Brazil. In Nigeria, he was awarded the country’s highest national honor, before heading to Brazil for the G20 summit. Despite the opposition’s attempts to dominate the narrative, the BJP and PM Modi never take an election lightly.
This time, the RSS has campaigned in Maharashtra in a manner similar to its efforts in Haryana, targeting every voter in both villages and cities. While opposition campaigning officially concluded today, the BJP and RSS’s door-to-door outreach will continue until the voting ends. The opposition, despite its efforts, has no match for the BJP and RSS’s grassroots mobilization and relentless campaigning.
