The shift in the focus of PM Narendra Modi’s campaign from the guarantee of a Viksit Bharat (developed India) and the ‘Beyond 400’ (seats) pitch to generating fear of “our women’s mangalsutra would be stolen by Congress’s hand” after the first round of voting has raised questions.
Playing up the majoritarian fear has always been a part of the BJP’s strategy but after two terms, a distracted opposition, and the entry of secular characters in the NDA family, it appeared for a while like the BJP is looking at a post-polarisation scenario in western Uttar Pradesh, where eight constituencies went to the polls in the first phase.
But this time, the Opposition has its counter-narrative of fear. Using the anxiety that the BJP’s 400-paar pitch is causing among the subaltern groups, the Opposition is portraying a brute majority as a precursor to change the Constitution as envisaged by B.R. Ambedkar and the reservation policy. It thus comes as no surprise that PM Narendra Modi did not refer to the magic number at the Aligarh rally on April 22.
