Election Results: Six things that worked for Narendra Modi in Gujarat

Dec 18, 2017, 12.12 PM IST

Clever poll strategy

The less-than-impressive show put up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat, where it had a target of 150 seats, indicates the party has snatched the victory out of the jaws of defeat.

It faced formidable opposition as different caste leaders aligned against it and Congress president Rahul Gandhi embraced soft Hindutva. In addition, there was resentment among the business community over the difficulties due to the GST. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah were still able to make their party win by crafting a clever poll strategy.

The following six factors helped the BJP turn the tide in Gujarat:

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PTI

​The Aiyar factor

Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar's caste slur against Modi was a god-sent occasion for the BJP.Modi raised the issue in his poll rallies, which helped him garner sympathy among Gujarat voters.

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BCCL

The GST tweak

Well before the polls, the Modi government brought GST rates drastically down and made several procedures simpler.The business community in Gujarat had shown resentment over GST. The pre-poll tweaks mollified the community.

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ThinkStock Photo

​Easy farm loans

To woo the rural vote bank weeks before the assembly elections, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani announced loans up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers at zero per cent interest, a move likely to benefit over 25 lakh farmers.

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PTI

Anti-Pakistan

Modi fell back on tried-and-tested poll rhetoric of Gujarat—the Pakistan bashing.He claimed in his rallies that former PM Manmohan Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar met Pakistani officials to conspire against him just before the polls.

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PTI

The Hardik tapes

Several sex tapes of Hardik Patel were released before the elections.Though the quota leader took them in his stride, they must have worked against him in a conservative Gujarati society.

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BCCL

​The Nizami factor

Modi brought up the issue of Kashmiri separatist leader Salman Nizami campaigning along with Rahul Gandhi.

Modi cited Nizami's tweets in favour of Afzal Guru and against India.