Lok Sabha Elections 2024: How BJP Under Narendra Modi Is Leaving No Stone Unturned To Secure Mission 400

Current Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Narendra Damodardas Modi has urged his party and leaders to work to secure at least 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance. Eight months ago, when the opposition parties joined hands to form the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), there were talks about whether the NDA could withstand the combined onslaught of the opposition or not. However, the BJP remained undeterred and gave the slogan of Mission 400. In the words of political strategist Prashant Kishor, this shifted the narrative from 'whether the BJP will win or not' to 'whether the BJP will get 400 seats or not'. So, let's take a look at some key factors using which the BJP is trying to win 400 Lok Sabha seats this election:

Alliance Formation

To counter the united might of the INDIA bloc, the BJP moved swiftly to not only dent the opposition bloc but also woo other like-minded regional parties. The Narendra Modi government announces Bharat Ratna for two key personalities - Karpoori Thakur and Chaudhary Charan Singh. While the highest honour to Thakur saw the BJP regaining Nitish Kumar-led JDU in the NDA fold, Bharat Ratna to Chaudhary Charan Singh brought Jayant Chaudhary's RLD into the ruling alliance. This bolstered the BJP's poll prospects in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, the BJP leaders are trying to bring Naveen Patnaik's BJD onboard in Odisha despite alliance talks hitting a roadblock. In a boost for the NDA in southern India, the JDS has joined hands with the BJP in Karnataka and TDP-Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh.  

Breaking Opposition Unity

The BJP has not only managed to break the opposition alliance but also its key leaders. From Gujarat to Bengal, several key leaders have joined the saffron brigade ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. In Gujarat, senior Congress leaders like Arjun Modhwadia and Ambarish Der joined the BJP while in Bengal, Tapas Roy left the ruling TMC for the BJP. Modhwadia and Der will further boost the BJP's prospects in Gujarat while Roy will dent TMC in areas like Kolkata North and Damdam in Bengal. 

Bet On Winners

The BJP has released its first candidate list for the polls and it shows that while party is brushing aside leaders who gave controversial statements besides betting on winning faces. The party fielded most of the winners of the 2019 polls once again this time thus indicating that it's not willing to take risks in seats where it has MPs who won from the seat more than once. The BJP is also fielding leaders who recently joined the party after severing ties with the opposition and Ritesh Pandey from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar is an example of that. 

Besides these factors, the BJP is continuously taking welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government to the public. Even the BJP's poll campaign is highly weaved around the welfare schemes like Ujjwala, Ayushman Bharat, free toilets, pucca houses and more.