Just when the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan was stepping up its 'vote chori' offensive to corner the BJP-JDU combine ahead of the Bihar polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have turned the tables on his rivals by latching on to a video of some youngsters screaming abuses from a campaign stage of the Opposition alliance.
In an emotional address after launching a women-centric scheme yesterday, the Prime Minister spoke about his late mother, Heeraben Modi, and then referred to the viral video. "My mother, who had nothing to do with politics, was subjected to vile abuses from the RJD-Congress platform. This is deeply saddening, painful, and distressing," he said, adding that while he may forgive his late mother's insult, "Bihar will not". He also said these abuses targeting his mother actually target every mother in the country.
The Prime Minister's emotional speech on camera has shifted the narrative of the Bihar campaign and brought the abuse row to the centre. The Opposition has tried to contain the damage by stressing that no prominent leader was on the stage when the abuses were hurled, but visuals of women crying and protesting the slangs show the Prime Minister's words have reached the target audience. The BJP has taken the cue. Party workers have started protests, and a Bihar bandh has also been called.
Since the 2010 Assembly polls, women voters in Bihar have consistently recorded higher turnouts than men. This surge in women voters, primarily driven by Nitish Kumar's initiatives such as prohibition, has built a strong foundation for the NDA. The Prime Minister's emotional appeal has now provided the BJP-JDU combine with an ideal plank for its 2025 campaign.
This is not the first time Prime Minister Modi has turned vile political attacks by his rivals into a weapon to be used against them. As Gujarat Chief Minister, then NDA's Prime Minister face and then Prime Minister, he has smartly gone to the people every time a rival has launched a personal attack, and built a campaign around the abuses targeting him. And each time, he was rewarded in the polls.
From neech (lowlife) to maut ka saudagar (trader of death) to zahrila saanp (poisonous snake) to pickpocket, the list of personal attacks the Prime Minister has faced is long. In fact, BJP president JP Nadda, in a letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, listed over 100 abuses Congress leaders used for the Prime Minister.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had said Narendra Modi would never become Prime Minister and could instead distribute "tea" at a Congress meet. An astute politician, Mr Modi turned the personal attack into a chaiwallah vs political dynasts campaign and scored a landslide win in the general election. When Mr Aiyar referred to him as "neech" (lowlife), the Prime Minister told the people that a poor mother's son from a backward community was insulted. This, too, cost the Congress.
In 2007, the Congress was well-placed in Gujarat ahead of the Assembly polls. Then Sonia Gandhi used the "Maut Ka Saudagar" jab for Narendra Modi, then Gujarat's Chief Minister. Mr Modi turned this attack into a weapon and countered it at every rally. The BJP went on to score a thumping win in the Gujarat polls.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came up with the "Chowkidar Chor Hai" slogan to target Prime Minister Modi over the Rafale deal. The BJP scored more seats than it got in the 2014 election.
With the Bihar polls approaching, the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan took out a yatra to intensify its 'vote chori' campaign against the ruling BJP. This yatra also amplified the Opposition's objections to the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in Bihar. While the Election Commission has trashed the Congress's allegations of vote fraud, the yatra emerged as a talking point.
Amid this, the Prime Minister's emotional appeal has changed the conversation. And now the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to make the most of it. Will it work? The answer will only be revealed on counting day.
(Akhilesh Sharma is Managing Editor, Politics, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
