BJP Triumphant Over Opposition in Lok Sabha Elections 2019; Modi Factor And More, Here's What Worked For The Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power with a bang as the party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief Amit Shah registered a massive victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The BJP won more than 300 Parliamentary seats on its own. The NDA collectively won 350 seats in the Lok Sabha. Besides winning nationally, the BJP made some remarkable gains in West Bengal and Odisha. In fact, in what can be seen as history having been created, BJP leader Smriti Irani won the Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh by defeating Congress President Rahul Gandhi in his bastion. Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Live News Updates.

From 'Aayega to Modi Hi' to 'Aagaya Modi', it has been a massive campaign for the BJP online as well as on the ground. With rallies one after the other and a choreographed campaign with on ground planning by BJP chief Amit Shah, there was a clear narrative spread out by the party. It all worked in favour of the BJP, with the party ending up registering an even better victory than 2014, something that many had doubted even as the exit polls had predicted it. So what really worked for the BJP? Here's a quick point-by-point look at factors that led to BJP's victory. Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Five Reasons Behind Congress' Crushing Defeat at Hands of PM Modi-Led BJP.

Modi Factor Sustained

Every rally addressed by the Prime Minister of the 144, including the victory speech that he gave today, was greeted by chants and roars of "Modi, Modi" and not "BJP, BJP". While some poll pundits had written off Modi magic, it turns out the enigma of the leader sustained through the past five years. In fact, the results are a reflection on how on several seats, the vote went to Modi instead of the candidate. Smriti Irani Creates History By Winning Congress Bastion Amethi Lok Sabha Seat; Here's A Look At How The BJP Leader Defeated Rahul Gandhi.

Weak Opposition

A Modi-led BJP was pitted against an Opposition that kept fighting within themselves. The Opposition was weak at several levels including unity, comebacks and counter-narrative. With a broken Opposition, especially in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the voter was left confused and the benefit clearly went to the BJP.

No Leader to Match Modi's Charisma

Even as Congress President Rahul Gandhi stepped up his efforts in campaigning and appeared as a more matured politician, this facet of the Congress President could be seen only over the past one and a half years as compared to a seasoned leader like Narendra Modi. Therefore, there was no political leader seen as strong to match PM Modi's charisma.

National Security Narrative

After the Balakot airstrike that followed the Pulwama terror attack, the Opposition could hardly set up a counter-narrative. The campaign of Rafale and 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' couldn't stand its ground in front of 'vote for the soldiers of the country'.

Hindutva

One cannot deny that a large population sees Narendra Modi and the BJP as driving the cause of Hindutva. The Hindus, who are the majority in India, have established a connect with the likes of Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Ram Mandir narrative, the creation of Ministry of Ganga, the giant televised temple visits seem to have only strengthened the belief of the average Hindu, who has visibly voted for the BJP, beyond caste lines.

The Money

One big factor that helped the BJP carry out a massive campaign across media and on the ground was money power. The BJP came out as the richest political party over the past two years with 90 percent of the electoral bonds in the country being with the party.

Ground Level Workers and Amit Shah's Planning

Amit Shah has done it in the past and he did it yet again. Amit Shah promised to deliver in West Bengal and so he did. He also ensured that BJP didn't lose its ground in Uttar Pradesh. There was a constant connection between ground workers of the BJP and the Prime Minister through the 'Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot' video conferences. This was something that the Congress lacked - a connection between the worker and the party chief.

The Opposition, therefore, has a lot of lessons to be learnt while the BJP now focuses on winning the Assembly Elections set for this year in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2019 10:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).