Will swing votes in BJP's favour

NEW DELHI: Days after he was supposed to have been pulled up by BJP mouthpiece Kamal Sandesh for being a man in hurry, Narendra Modi received a shot in the arm with another Sangh Parivar publication, Organiser , saying that only the Gujarat CM has the potential to catapult the party to power single-handedly, just like Atal Bihari Vajpayee did in the 1990s.An article in the latest issue of the RSS ’ mouthpiece in English describes the controversial CM as “by far the most popular leader in the country”, who as BJP’s mascot for 2014 parliamentary polls has the ability to expand the BJP’s appeal and vote base across the country much like Atal Bihari Vajpayee did in the 1990s.Although the write-up by psephologist GVL Narasimha Rao contrasts with the criticism in Kamal Sandesh as well as RSS’ Hindi weekly Panchajanya, sources in the Organiser said that the endorsement for the Gujarat strongman in its latest issue mirrors the official stance of the publication. “We have been consistently praising his achievements in Gujarat and the decision to publish the article should be seen in that light,” said a source.The view is significant because BJP has shied away from spelling out its choice for PM, and because of the assessment in the political circles that the projection of Modi as the candidate for the top job is going to gain momentum and may become virtually unstoppable if he wins the assembly polls slated to be held later this year.The Organiser article takes head on all the arguments marshaled by those who feel that Modi’s projection will hurt the BJP; chiefly that tagging the hardliner as the prime ministerial candidate would further undercut its already restricted social appeal and putting off NDA allies like Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who hope to win over the Muslim vote.Rao builds his case by saying that while there is nationwide anger against Congress, this alone cannot guarantee BJP-led NDA’s return to power at the Centre. He stresses that NDA is a major political force only in 272 of the Lok Sabha seats, leaving Left and regional parties as the likely beneficiaries of erosion in Congress’s support in the rest of the 545 Lok Sabha constituencies.He argues that the limitation can be overcome by projecting a strong leader “whose appeal transcends state boundaries” , and who “would give BJP’s campaign a nationwide momentum and help it make substantial gains even in non-BJP strongholds”.Citing the successes of VP Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee whose leadership galvanized the anti-Congress mood and led the party to lose even in its stronghold, the advocacy for Modi in the RSS journal says that the Gujarat CM as the leader of BJP would benefit the party in UP, and help it win seats even in states like Odisha and Haryana.It also joins issue with the argument that Modi’s projection will scare away allies, channeling the view of the Hindutva hardliners in BJP that finding partners will not be a problem so long as the party is seen as a winning ticket. “The number of BJP allies grew between 1996 and 1999 principally because regional parties saw an accretion in their strength owing to the incremental role that Vajpayee had delivered to them. The same would work for the BJP at the helm,” it says.The timing of the article is also significant, coming just after RSS decided to mend its rift with the Gujarat CM by giving into his demand to remove his bête noire from BJP’s national executive. As part of the bargain, Modi has come out in the support of BJP chief Nitin Gadkari , who is widely seen as the RSS appointee.