Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s beef is with the Congress manifesto. There are things in the Congress ‘Nyay Patra’ that have made the BJP nervous. One of which, Modi claims, has to do with “redistributing assets” after the Congress returns to power. More than "redistribution of assets", Modi does not want the Congress to return to power. So, the Prime Minister named “infiltrators” with “those with more children” as beneficiaries of Congress returning to centre-stage.

Can it be hypocrisy to the power of bankruptcy of ideas? Modi’s plethora of welfare schemes and the slogan “Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas” also targeted “those with more children” and the Aadhaar-card-armed “infiltrators”. But, suddenly, it is no longer “Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas”; “those with more children” are spoiling the scene for Modi.

Something is troubling our “Chunavi Prime Minister”, what? Does it have to do with the first phase of polling? Is there a fear that the ailment could progress with every stage of the remaining six phases of polling left on the Election Commission’s plate? The answers aren’t forthcoming, but the desperation is showing in Prime Minister Modi's speeches.

Lawyer-politician Kapil Sibal has asked the Election Commission of India to take “action” against Modi and “condemn” Modi’s incendiary outbursts. Thereby Sibal made plain where his sympathies lie. “You are giving a speech that the Congress will give the properties of the women to infiltrators and terrorists. Don't the 20 crore people of this country matter? Don't they have aspirations?”

Whether Sibal’s demand has a salutary effect on the Election Commission is hard to guess. A third straight term is Modi’s goal. There are people galore who hate the thought. This includes the Congress and “those who have more children”, too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to polarize the electorate has succeeded. The Election Commission of India has reason to “take action” against Modi but will it?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an election rally in Banswara in Rajasthan that the Congress has its eyes on the “mangalsutras” of those who do not have more children. The impression that Modi gave was that if the Congress came to power, post these elections, everything would be lost. Those who do not have more children will become paupers in their own land.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi painted a doomsday scenario much like in some of the Conan series of adventure novels. Fear-mongering. Scare-mongering. Tall stories. On Monday, Modi addressed a rally in Aligarh and the story of “redistribution of your assets” was told again. Did the women return home from Modi’s rallies clutching on to their ‘mangalsutras’? Modi was talking of large-scale chain-snatching, a metaphor for dangers of Congress rule.

What’s troubling Modi, the Congress getting the votes of “those with more children”, or the fear that “those with less children” haven’t yet decided on voting for the BJP? The first phase of polling in 102 seats did not set Modi’s Ganga on fire. There was something missing. Everybody sensed it, except maybe Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The question will be asked, why didn’t Modi fear-monger about “mangalsutra” and “those with more children” before the first phase polling? Did the need arise only after the first phase, in which case, why? Remember the Karnataka assembly elections? Suddenly, Modi was desperate and cries of “Jai Bajrangbali” had sounded in Modi's roadshows. The BJP lost Karnataka.

A Pakistani newspaper headline told the story eloquently of what happened in the first phase: ‘India Election Starts With No Modi Wave’. Yup, there is no palpable Modi wave in 2024. Despite the “Ek akela sab par bhaari”, “Abki baar 400 paar” and “Modi Ki Guarantee”. And, going by Modi, Pakistan is full of “those with more children”.

The neighbour always gets a bird’s eye view. Is the absence of a Modi wave affecting Modi in strange ways? There must be reasons why Modi is going berserk with wanton speeches. Maybe, it is Modi leaving no stone unturned to guarantee the “370” and the “400 paar” boasts. It is a fact that the BJP never slacks on elections.

What if Modi has been hit by a last minute “Shining India” scare? If Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could get stopped in his tracks, it could happen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also. If it could happen in 2004, it could happen in 2024 also. Certain fears are inexplicable and this is that kind. The 2004 ‘Shining India’ ghost must be haunting Modi.

Also, it does look and sound odd that Modi needs a fresh and different narrative straight after the first phase itself, when the dust of voting for the 102 seats hasn’t even settled. The Congress manifesto has left an impact on the Prime Minister’s mind, his plans and on his campaign. Does he sense defeat? Has his keen poll-nose caught on to a change in voter mood, which called for different, more desperate, strokes?

What’s got the Prime Minister, one half of the BJP’s vaunted ‘Election Juggernaut’, go off keel, blatantly courting controversy, even EC opprobrium? There is no media oversight, an honest appraisal of what is happening on the electoral front as Modi displays behaviour that is at odds with his pre-first phase conduct. What is playing in the Prime Minister’s mind as the clock ticks on his second term is the question asking for an answer. (IPA Service)