Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh
New Delhi: On the one hand BJP`s prime ministerial candidate for 2014 General Elections, Narendra Modi, is on a whirlwind tour across the country garnering support for his candidature. On the other, his party leaders are hopeful that the so-called Modi wave will help them get across the finishing line and the BJP will come back to power at the Centre after a decade.
Expressing similar sentiments, senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said on Monday that unprecedented audience response at Gujarat Chief Minister`s rallies captured the mood of the nation.
Jaitley wrote in his blog, “The defining moment of public functions was the unprecedented audience response to Narendra Modi. The Imphal rally is perceived to be the largest political rally in Manipur. The BJP does not have a very strong organization in Manipur. Despite that, for Modi to draw an unprecedented crowd itself is an indicator of the current mood.”
“He attracted massive crowds at the party rallies at Guwahati and Chennai and finally in Kerala. His other functions defied religious and the caste divide. The communities, where there had been lesser support for the BJP in the past, enthusiastically invited him to their functions. Their response was overwhelming,” he added.
Commenting on the last ten years of Congress-led UPA rule at the Centre, the BJP leader said that there was a `mood of disillusionment` with the grand old party. “People are looking for a hope. Does Modi symbolize all that an exasperated population is looking for? People want a tall, inspirational and decisive leader. They want to redefine standards of probity? Price rise, unemployment and stagnation of economy are disturbing them. It is, therefore, understandable that in traditional BJP strongholds in North, Central and western parts of the country Modi should draw an unprecedented response,” he wrote.
“The people are angry with the status quo. They want a change. Modi signifies that change and the hope that the change will be for the better. The political support behind Modi now needs to convert this election into a referendum on Modi. If he manages to do so, this undercurrent will translate into seats. The support of the various sections of the society is much larger than the strength of the BJP in those states,” he opined and ended with the question, “Are we in for a pleasant surprise in these regions?”
Modi was named as his party`s prime ministerial candidate in September after a growing clamour from the cadres to do so. Since then he has been on the campaign trail in various states and has been taking on the Congress for non-governance and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his weak leadership.
