S
TAYING true to its style
of painting the town red
(saffron in this case), the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has launched coun-
trywide campaigns, rallies,
pressers, and events to list and cel-
ebrate key milestones in 11 years
of the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) Government.
Themed campaigns and month-
long tours are underway to spot-
light key reforms, welfare schemes
and national security achieve-
ments as impressive numbers are
popping up listing economic
growth of the country. The cele-
brations are covering the previ-
ous two terms and the first year
of the third term, combining it into
a wholesome package.

 

However,
hyphenating the first year of the
third term with previous terms of
the Narendra Modi Government
need to be avoided, for, they come
with their own metrics.
Unlike the first two terms when
the BJP stormed to power with
overwhelming majority, the third
term for Prime Minister Modi has
come with different realities. The
2024 general election results shat-
tered BJP’s dream of crossing the
400-seat mark in the 543-mem-
ber Lok Sabha.

 

The reverses forced
the ruling party to go into the low-
er house with 240 seats with the
allies Janata Dal (United) and
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) drag-
ging it across the majority mark
of 272. Managing the unpre-
dictable allies having a history of
deserting the BJP in earlier terms
was seen as an impossible task for
the Prime Minister. Some had pre-
dicted mid-term elections in one
year as the Opposition found its
voice after the subdued perform-
ance of the BJP. However, Modi
3.0 has handed a profound ham-
mering to all the Doubting
Thomases.

 

Not only the allies, led by Nitish
Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu,
are happy with the BJP they are
also on the same page on many
tricky reforms. The BJP has man-
aged to keep its allies content
without much problems. Despite
a few setbacks, the partners have
refused to jump the ship. This
masterly balancing act, while
keeping its own strategy, author-
ity and idea of reforms intact, has
defined Modi 3.0. And that is why
the third term cannot be hyphen-
ated with the previous two terms.
Looking back at the first year of
the third term for the Modi
Government, the sweeping
change in fortune it has managed
after the Lok Sabha polls setback
proves that the BJP is a quick learn-
er.

 

General elections had sent out
a clear warning that the party lead-
ership had walked into a comfort
zone, depending solely on the
ModiWave. The ‘400-paar’ slogan
came with the danger of electoral
hubris as the party cadre was lulled
into a false confidence. Though
there was a palpable inertia in the
Opposition, it was only a smart-
ly installed veneer. They simply
stole the thunder from the BJP on
its one-point agenda of
‘Constitution in Danger’. It was
utter falsehood but it paid off for
the Congress party as it regained
its voice as a worthy competitor
to the BJP. With depleted strength
and a narrative so powerful to
change voter mood in a jiffy to
counter, the BJP had an onerous
task to reclaim its primacy. It did,
with a resounding success, con-
solidating endorsement of
Narendra Modi's leadership and
setting the electoral landscape
back in shape within months.
The last one year has seen the
BJP turning early doubts into a
supreme confidence as it won
Assembly elections in
Maharashtra, Haryana, and Delhi.
All the three States presented dif-
ferent challenges but the BJP
reworked its strategies with swift
moves, forged alliances, kept
demoralised partners in good
humour, and effected a heist that
the Opposition could never fath-
om. In a space of months, the BJP
was back to its pole position, turn-
ing the tide and pushing key Bills
at will. The comeback was differ-
ent and held tremendous signif-
icance. It cannot be equated with
the electoral success across the
country in the previous two terms
of Modi Government.
In the last one year, the BJP
leadership has demonstrated
great strength as it pushed cru-
cial Bills while keeping its alliance
partners on the same page.
Despite having initial apprehen-
sion about theWaqf (Amendment)
Bill fearing backlash from Muslim
voters, the TDP and JD (U) decid-
ed to stay put with the BJP as the
government addressed these con-
cerns through dialogue and Joint
Parliamentary Committee scruti-
ny. The allies were handled with
fine finesse to advance a major
electoral promise of the BJP. Same
unity among the NDA partners was
on display during the One Nation,
One Election Bill as they effectively
ended the claims of running a
fragile coalition.
Long-term reforms have
remained the highlight of the Modi
Government. However, pushing it
for parliamentary scrutiny with
depleted numbers in this term
was a dangerous idea. Many
believed that the BJP would go soft-
er on these key reforms but both
the critical Bills were passed by a
comfortable majority thus
demonstrating the highly effec-
tive management and communi-
cation strategies of the BJP. It also
reflects core belief of the party
cadre in organisational decorum
and adherence to a set of rules. In
testing times, after the setback of
2024, this success of the BJP stands
out on its own, making it totally
different from the previous ten
years of governance.
Why the first year of Modi 3.0
cannot be hyphenated with the
last two terms is due to the nature
of challenges the government has
faced. The NDA has encountered
a peculiar set of problems on var-
ious fronts. A maverick like Donald
Trump is rocking the global econ-
omy with his whimsical policies
while security and diplomatic
stakes have reached a different
level after Operation Sindoor.With
a decisive security stance and
trade pacts the Modi-led BJP has
changed the game in just one year.
That’s why this one year of Modi
3.0 needs to be seen in isolation.