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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AMIT SHAH

Political strategist Prashant Kishor recently predicted the BJP’s rule at the Centre for many more decades. His unexpected forecast at a public forum came at a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was also touring Goa to expand her party’s network to unseat BJP there as a part […]

Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Political strategist Prashant Kishor recently predicted the BJP’s rule at the Centre for many more decades. His unexpected forecast at a public forum came at a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was also touring Goa to expand her party’s network to unseat BJP there as a part of her national ambition in 2024.

Kishor’s comments have stumped Banerjee because he and his consultancy firm, I-PAC, have been working for her party to take it to a pan-India level to challenge BJP in the next Lok Sabha Elections. While the TMC chief has somewhat distanced herself from Kishor’s views by calling them “personal”, the latter has not changed his mind however.

Then what could have prompted an established political strategist to make a positive comment about a party against which he has been working for another? Was it a slip of tongue by him? Or was it a deliberate one? All these questions lead to Kishor’s successful past that talks about his achievement and experience of being a close watcher of BJP.

In 2014 it was Kishor who had helped BJP to come to power again at the Centre and made Narendra Modi’s dream to become Prime Minister a reality. But there was also another man who quietly foresaw and designed Modi’s political future but stayed behind the curtains to script the new chapter in the country’s political history. He is Amit Shah, the Man Friday of Modi since his days as the Gujarat CM and is often hailed as modern-day Chanakya of India.

Like Modi has risen to be an indomitable national leader, Shah held the driver’s seat in the party rising to be its most successful president and steering its growth to an all-time high. Feeling the public mood and perfection of party strategies have been the forte of Shah’s dose of successes and troubleshooting like Pranab Mukherjee in the UPA era.

In 2017, Shah was the architect of BJP’s striking victory in Uttar Pradesh which is also the biggest state in India.

Only a year before that, the party also opened its book in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and within three years won 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state despite being under TMC rule. In the Northeast also, the BJP, meanwhile, came to power in Assam and Tripura for the first time under the guidance of Shah. A region that once used to reel under terrorism and violence by various extremist tribal outfits now smiles with a fresh lease of life and livelihood.

Even after his stint as BJP president, Shah continues to enjoy the confidence of the party’s rank and file and remains the last word in the party, irrespective of issues. In government, he holds charge of a portfolio that aims at cooperation among all ministries, a responsibility that comes next to the PM. This signifies his influence and power.

It has to be kept in mind also that Shah has gradually become Modi’s eyes and ears both in the government and the party simultaneously from the state level to the national arena, courtesy to his dedication and farsightedness. This is a unique and unmatched leadership style both in the BJP and beyond.

As the union home minister, Shah is the one who single-handedly effected abrogation of Article 370, a longstanding demand of the BJP to bring the people of Jammu and Kashmir at par with the other citizens of India. This dealt a blow to Pakistan and its push for terrorism in the valley, which is now a union territory. The bold step has drastically reduced the number of terror-related incidents in Jammu & Kashmir.

Known for his fierce stand to neutralize his rivals and silence his critics, Shah also confidently ensured a smooth passage of the citizenship law, CAA, in the parliament despite a massive uproar outside. This is another feather to his cap given the BJP’s focus on the Hindutva agenda. But he assured that the Muslims would not be harassed and outclassed the opposition.

In internal security also Shah dealt with homeland threats like Maoism which once became a major headache of any ruling party at the Centre. States like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, which earlier were hotbeds of ultras during the UPA rule, have seen a steady decline in the trend. They continue to run the country and the party in tandem. (A tandem bicycle is a form of a bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person.)

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