Narendra Modi govt 2.0 to complete one year on May 30; celebrations to go virtual

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 26

As the Narendra Modi government 2.0 get close to completing one year on May 30, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has drawn up a mega programme to mark the event. Keeping in consideration the COVID-19 restrictions, the celebrations will mostly be digital.

According to a party communication, at least 1,000 virtual rallies and conferences will be organised where the national and state leaders and central ministers will highlight the achievements of the government in the past one year such as the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, construction of Ram Mandir, passing of Triple Talaq Act and the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Prime Minister’s latest mantra —‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘self-reliant India’.

While in the normal times, the achievements which would have been highlighted via mega rallies and press conferences, they will now be propagated online.

A major focus of these virtual rallies, conferences and interactions will be the Rs 20-lakh crore financial package announced by the government to revive the economy and benefit the poor and weaker sections of society.

The party will release a video of the government’s work to combat the COVID-19 outbreak and has asked the state units to translate and dub it in local languages

The BJP is also expected to distribute a copy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handwritten letter to 10 crore households across the country. The letter will carry his vision and suggestions about combating COVID-19, the work done by his government and the message of ‘self-reliant India’, say sources

The letter will be distributed by booth-level workers in the areas that do not fall under containment zones while in the containment zones, they will be delivered electronically or through social media platforms, say leaders.

Party chief JP Nadda will inaugurate the anniversary functions by going live on a social media platform.

This is not the first time the party is relying on technology to spread its word. The BJP is almost a pioneer in the use of social media for electoral and political gains and technology to reach a wider audience in campaigns.

Leaders also pointed to ‘virtual’ meetings and conferences Nadda had been having with the state units during the lockdown.

Sweeping back to power in 2019 with a majority bigger than in the 2014 general elections, the Modi government 2.0 will complete one year on May 30.

Citing the various achievements in the Parliament, leaders called it the “most promising and impressive” one year. The BJP communication, which describes PM Modi as the world’s “most popular leader”, says “all these achievements will be written in golden letters in history”.

However, the saffron government is completing one year in power at a time when the country is passing through its worst economic crisis with declining growth, joblessness and the misery of migrant labourers adding to perceptions against it.

While the leadership is aggressively countering with COVID-19 relief measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, political observers said economic losses and sufferings of migrants during the lockdown had dented Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image, turning into a political fallout for the party.

“The economic relief package has missed the target audience, poor, farmers, MSMEs, etc. The migrant crisis has affected Prime Minister Modi’s pro-poor image, which the BJP used to woo economically weaker sections and win many political battles in the past seven years,” they say.

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