Road to 2024 | As Modi makes the poll contest personal, can Cong keep the focus on issues? | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express

PM Modi’s decision to once again turn the upcoming polls into a personality-driven affair, by asking voters to vote for him, could pose a challenge for the Congress.

Rawat, of course, was also making a case for himself. That apart, many in the Congress had long argued that the party should—if not project a CM face—at least turn Assembly elections into strictly a state affair, talking only about local issues instead of targeting Modi and his government’s “failures”.

The JMM did just that, successfully, during its campaign for the Assembly elections in Jharkhand in 2019, when it refrained from attacking Modi, and, despite provocations, stuck to its script of running a strictly-localised campaign, targeting the then CM Raghubar Das and his government’s record. Hemant Soren had sensed that there was disenchantment against Das, and worked on it to his party’s advantage.

In Bihar, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav too did the same. He rarely attacked Modi during his campaign in 2020. He would mention Modi only in the context of the central government’s “failure” to give a special package and special status to Bihar. He had kept his campaign centered on CM Nitish Kumar’s governance record of 15 years, deftly avoiding mention of national issues or taking on Modi on his performance. He was nearly successful, with his party falling short of the halfway mark just by a few seats.

As campaigning reaches a crescendo in Himachal Pradesh and picks up pace in Gujarat, PM Modi’s decision to once again turn the fight into a personality-driven affair, by asking voters to vote for him, could pose a challenge for the Congress.

Many in the party feel it is a “political trap” the Congress should avoid. Accordingly, the Congress campaign in Himachal Pradesh this time was, so far, centered around local issues.

https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/modi-poll-contest-personal-congress-focus-issues-8254965/


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