The Modi model of governance and well-oiled BJP are on course to change electoral trend in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls on November 12 and the verdict of the people will be known on December 8. It was in 1985 that the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had beaten the anti-incumbency factor to retain power. That was 37 years ago. Himachal Pradesh has always elected a new government after every five years. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands against this electoral trend, as he has broken such trends in several other states.

Political pundits are still deciphering the reasons for Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party finding no obstacles in reversing the electoral history in such states. Under the leadership of PM Modi, the BJP has become a political party full of activity 365 days a year. The BJP unlike other political parties doesn’t wake up only in the states after the announcement of the dates of elections by the Election Commission. The BJP is with the people every day in times of their happiness and sorrows.

Over the years it has been well demonstrated that the BJP is the only proponent of social democracy. It must be recalled that the architect of the Indian Constitution B R Ambedkar had expounded on the relevance of social democracy. India at that time being a nation of the vast majority of the poor needed the political parties to address social causes and also find solutions to allow reforms in the society. The social democracy called upon the political parties to work against the socio-economic inequity in the country.

PM Modi in the highest commitment to social democracy, which also found expressions in the political philosophy of the BJP’s ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, has given the task to remove the socio-economic inequity in the country topmost priority.

Gareeb Kalyan Agenda of the Modi government is committed to remove the socio-economic inequity in the country. The BJP has been a steady bridge between the Modi government and the party-ruled states, which has ensured that the Modi model of development has reached the villages. Now, the Modi model of development has a uniformity of implementation at the centre, the state capitals, districts and the villages with the sole mantra of improving the conditions of the people driving the officials.

In Uttarakhand, the political pundits were very loudly reminding everyone that the state never re-elects the incumbent government. At the top, they were also amplifying that the BJP had given three Chief Ministers in five years in Uttarakhand. They also claimed that Pushkar Singh Dhami, while being in the office only for a few months, would be inadequate to the task of winning a fresh-mandate. Uttarakhand also had been electing a BJP and the Congress-led government every five years. It had become a tradition that the incumbent government would be voted out in the elections. But the BJP proved them all wrong. That was possible because the Modi model and the well-oiled machinery of the BJP acted as force multiplier to bring Dhami and the party back to power.

The people in Uttarakhand had no doubt that the credibility of the BJP to work for welfare is unquestionable. The people in the hilly state were convinced that PM Modi had geared his government to look after the interests of Uttarakhand. That was made visible on the ground as the execution of various infrastructure projects with the push of PM Modi as he took regular meetings of PRAGATI to expedite the development works. The people in Uttarakhand had also known PM Modi having worked for their welfare in times of tragedy when the natural calamity struck the hilly state in 2013 with flash floods in Kedarnath.

Uttar Pradesh had never elected the same government for over three decades. Since the 1990s, the governments changed there after five years and sometimes even midways. For almost one and a half decade the caste-based identity politics kept Uttar Pradesh in a poverty bind. The likes of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party perpetuated the worst form of caste-based identity politics. They took the state back by several decades. The factories in Kanpur were shut. The leather cottage industries in Agra also struggled. The sugarcane farmers were driven to poverty. The sugarcane mills refused to pay dues to farmers and the arrears ran for several years.

The people in UP did not venture out in the night, knowing that their life would be at risk. The land of the people and the state was grabbed by the Mafia with the police watching helplessly. But 2017 brought the BJP in power in Lucknow. After several decades the people in the state got a taste of good governance of the BJP. They saw that the encroachment on the public land was removed.

The Kashi Vishwanath temple complex was freed of the encroachments. The ancient city found that their roads became wide. The

people who had never seen a good road in their neighbourhood saw all weather roads coming up. The overhanging cobweb of electricity wire also disappeared. Complaints of the people were responded to in quick time. Arrears of the sugarcane farmers were cleared in record time. Agra became the global hub of shoe manufacturing. The businesses in Kanpur gained full steam. Noida became the top destination for global electronics manufacturers.

Uttar Pradesh in a very short span of time became a state of hope. The people richly rewarded the BJP in the 2022 state assembly elections by re-electing the Yogi

Adityanath-led BJP government in Lucknow. This again affirmed that the Modi model with the help of well-oiled machinery of the BJP had brought the agenda of positive incumbency at the forefront of electoral politics. People began ignoring the noise surrounding negative politics in the BJP-ruled states.

Goa had also been a state where Congress and the BJP gained power at intervals. The BJP in Goa was without the services of its stalwart Manohar Parrikar as he unfortunately passed away after a long battle with a critical illness. Goa also had seen the full might of the Modi model and the power of the well-oiled machinery of the BJP that ensured that the party returned to power with improved strength. Now, it is seen that even the Congress workers want to join the BJP to prosper in the state, knowing well that the party is fully committed to the development of Goa and welfare of its people.

Manipur got into news only for economic blockades by the insurgents. The BJP came to power there and changed history. Manipur was back to the path of development. Manipur also found that New Delhi was far closer to Imphal. N Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur, was blessed with the positive incumbency vote, as the BJP returned to power again.

PM Modi has been at the forefront of the development of Himachal Pradesh, bringing higher education institutions to the hilly state along with ever expanding railway networks, besides better facilities for the farmers. The state is showing visible signs of positive incumbency in favour of the BJP. On December 8, people will reveal their faith in good governance.