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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com .)

Ten Power Point slides, and nine other data sets — that’s a lot of stats. But that, clearly, was the point.Prime Minister Narendra Modi left no one in doubt about the intent of his keynote address at Economic Times Global Business Summit (ET GBS). An audience chock-a-block with Indian and global business elite heard the PM speak in Hindi and surely knew Modi was simultaneously speaking to a much larger audience.That audience — those eligible to vote — is right now getting a slow drip feed of competing electoral narratives for 2019 general elections . It’s around this time in the life of a 5-year government term, roughly a year and a half from national hustings, that large political economic narratives begin to take shape. Both through political-partisan and neutral efforts. The game in a democracy is, of course, for the political-partisan to try and influence the neutral.This happened in a spectacular fashion in the run up to 2014 polls. So widely reviled was the then Congress-led regime’s governance record that the neutral and the Modiled BJP ’s narratives fed into each other.Congress, essentially, didn’t have a story to sell. 2019 is extremely unlikely to be a mirror image of 2014. BJP won’t face the electorate with a record that invites near-universal derision, and Modi won’t face leadership questions. Congress even now seems a long away from constructing a story that looks fresh, different and is told by a leader readily acknowledged as prime ministerial material.A lot can happen, but these are advantages BJP is likely to retain, at least in part. But Modi’s main political battle is not necessarily against Rahul Gandhi . It’s against himself. Modi 2019 must compete against Modi 2014. Modi 2014 was the promised changemaker.The question for voters this time: is Modi 2019 actually a changemaker.BJP’s political economic narrative will need to marshal everything to convince voters the answer is ‘yes’. That’s the key to the party getting a national legislative majority again.The PM’s ET GBS speech was essentially the first chapter in that story. The 10 Power Point slides, topics ranged from the jump in India’s share in world GDP to a humming corporate bond market, and the nine other data sets — on railway lines to gas connections — made one central claim 19 times. Modi goes to 2019 with a record that befits a changemaker.If you are wondering how those Power Point slides on stable macro economy and finance, stuff like current account balance and spread of mutual funds investment feed into an election narrative, remember that the popular narrative against Congress in 2014 was backgrounded by some not-so-good macro and finance data points.Most voters may not care to know enough about these ‘technicalities’ but when ‘expert’ chatter on these issues builds up and points to broadly one conclusion — positive or negative — that message filters down to voters. At stake here is the popular perception about whether a government is in charge.And, of course, the nine data sets, on plainly and widely understood things like housing, public health and cooking gas availability, are readymade for any election campaign.If Modi 2019 has to convince voters that Modi 2014 was not just a campaign promise, facts will be as important as rhetoric.In fact, the shaping of such data into an easily understood campaign narrative will be crucial. Equally crucial will be the extent to which BJP’s 2019 narrative influences the neutral narrative.And there again, facts will be the key. Advantages that flow from Modi’s leadership style are already in BJP’s bag. Advantages that accrue from communicating demonstrable results of that leadership is BJP’s challenge.That’s why, 15 months ahead of general elections, those 10 Power Point slides seen by the ET GBS audience carried such a significant prime ministerial message.