PM Modi campaigning in Maharashtra
Five months after he took power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces the biggest test of his popularity as two Congress-ruled states, Maharashtra and Haryana, vote for new governments today.
Going to battle without naming any chief ministerial candidate in either state, the BJP has crafted its campaign around "brand Modi", hoping that the "Modi wave" it credits for its spectacular national election victory has an extended shelf-life.
Mr Modi tweeted this morning, "Urging the people of Haryana & Maharashtra to go out & cast their votes. Youngsters must show the way & ensure record turnout."
Addressing 27 packed rallies in nine days in Maharashtra and 12 over a fortnight in Haryana, Mr Modi repeatedly urged voters to press the "lotus" button. Posters with Mr Modi's solo image in both states urged voters to "bring change, walk with Modi."
"We have no regrets that state leaders were not the face of the election campaign. Only Narendra Modi has credibility - it was the right strategy," said Maharashtra BJP chief Devendra Phadnavis, who is seen as one of the front runners for chief minister should the BJP win a majority.
The BJP has gone for broke in Maharashtra, where it dumped its 25-year ally Shiv Sena, even though the two parties swept the polls together in May, winning 42 of the states 48 parliamentary seats.
Every BJP chief minister campaigned in Maharashtra; lawmakers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were roped in.
The BJP organized 700 rallies in the state and in the last leg of the campaign, either Mr Modi or BJP president Amit Shah was in Maharashtra every day.
The party sent 86 "digital vans" or mobile campaign vehicles fitted with GPS and large screens to 10 villages each a day to broadcast Mr Modi's messages in rural Maharashtra.
It also bought multiple TV spots to air the Prime Minister's blockbuster speech in New York's Madison Square Garden during an official US tour last month. As the Congress complained to the Election Commission, the BJP said it was within its rights to advertise its star campaigner's speech at a function that was private, not official.
In Haryana, BJP candidates are confident that the "Modi wave" is strong enough to take them past the finish post.
"Narendra Modi's popularity is at its peak today. His good governance and development plank," said Captain Abhimanyu, a chief ministerial probable in the state.