Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the biggest mascot for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the last several years and the Assembly election results show that he is the star who can still swing the game in favour of his party.
Out of the five states which voted to elect a new Assembly in November 2023, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power only in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress was in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Telangana was ruled by the regional outfit Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which has in the last few years indicated that it wants to become a national player, and Mizoram had another regional power, the Mizo National Front, in power.
There had been reports that the BJP was on a sticky wicket in Madhya Pradesh, where the party has been in power since 2003 except for a brief period from December 2018 to March 2020. The party was also reportedly facing a tough challenge from the Congress in Rajasthan and was way behind in the race in Chhattisgarh.
But the Election Commission of India trends show the BJP storming back to power in Madhya Pradesh and was all set to topple the Congress in the other two – Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
PM Modi had led the BJP campaign in all the states amid negative reports about the chances of the party securing power. The trends and results reveal that he continues to hold sway over the voters who have reposed their faith in the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Addressing rallies after rallies, road shows after roadshows, PM Modi pulled the BJP bandwagon towards the finish line in the three Hindi heartland states. His charisma, combined with the development records, oratory skills and BJP’s electoral machinery helped the party pit its principal rival – the Congress – to the post.
Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, credited PM Modi with the thumping win. He added, “”Modi ji MP ke mann mein hain aur Modi ji ke mann mein MP hai (Modi resides in MP’s heart and MP is in Modi’s heart).”
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who lost power five years back, exuded confidence of getting a comfortable majority in the state. He stated that the voters had rejected the false promises of the Congress and expressed their confidence in the BJP and PM Modi.