Caste to Constitution, INDIA to J-K: The takeaways from PM Modi’s victory speech

A look at Modi’s message in the course of a 38-minute speech:

* ‘Congress basks in divides’

Turning the Congress narrative on its head, Modi went on the offensive saying Rahul Gandhi’s constant caste refrain “can divide the country”. “Today the country is seeing how the Congress wants to divide the poor on the grounds of caste. People with silver and golden spoons want to make people fight on caste,” he said, going on to compare the Congress’s record on the matter with the BJP’s. An OBC himself, Modi said: “They (the Congress) will never allow a Dalit, tribal or OBC to become PM… So, when Dalits, tribals or OBCs acquire power and posts, they squirm.”

In the same vein, Modi accused the Congress of trying to create fault lines among farmers and soldiers, and said Haryana had given a strong message against such tactics. “They provoked the farmers of Haryana, but the farmers have sent the message that they are with the country and the BJP… They tried to instigate the Army, but the jawans are also with the country and BJP.”

* ‘Congress undermines institutions, as part of a global plan’

Another charge of the Opposition against the Modi-led BJP government is its “misuse” of institutions, from Central agencies to judiciary to the Election Commission. The PM took this on, reacting within hours of the Congress making the unprecedented declaration that it “would not accept” the Haryana results. “It (the Congress) wants to project in a bad light all that the people of the country are proud of. Be it any institution, the Congress wants to defame it. They and their urban Naxal friends went to the judiciary to defame the Election Commission. They have done the same thing today.”

The Haryana verdict proves that the people reject such “conspiracy” theories, Modi said. “In recent days, there have been many conspiracies against India’s democracy, economy and social cohesion. These are global conspiracies. I say with responsibility that the Congress is a part of this game. Nationalist Haryana has given a resounding slap to the conspirators.”

* ‘Congress allies should beware’

With the INDIA bloc looking to emerge as a cohesive unit against his government, Modi urged Congress allies to know better, tapping into the discordant noises from them on the Congress shock loss in Haryana and abysmal performance in J&K. “Today’s results have made it clear that Congress is now a parasitic party. While in Haryana it was defeated, in J&K, its ally (NC) had said it was suffering because of the Congress… Even in the Lok Sabha, the Congress won more than half its seats with the help of allies. In many states, the allies had to pay for the bad performance of the Congress,” Modi said.

The PM’s words come amidst hectic seat negotiations between the Congress and its allies for the coming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, with Delhi not far away.

With the BJP led by him accused of taking allies for granted, Modi also sent a message to his own partners to take a look at the other side.

* ‘The message from J&K’

More than the J&K results, the conduct of the polls there was projected by the Modi government as a stamp on its abrogation of Article 370. The always practical BJP did not even go all in on Kashmir, knowing the resentment in the Valley was too high – at least for now – for it to make any real progress there. Instead, it focused its energies on Jammu, which not just replied in kind but also gave the BJP enough votes to make the party the biggest in terms of vote share, virtually drowning out the Congress and planting the party’s flag in the power stakes in J&K.

The PM didn’t miss the opportunity to underline this symbolism, calling the J&K result “historic”. “Some people said Kashmir would burn without Article 370. But Kashmir has blossomed. People have voted in large numbers. Kashmir is coming out of separatism and curfew,” Modi said.

Targeting two birds with one stone, the PM said the extension of “the Indian Constitution to J&K” showed in what regard the BJP holds the Constitution. “In J&K, we restored the spirit of the Constitution. What will be a greater tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar?”

The PM also congratulated the NC (not mentioning its ally Congress) for its J&K win, setting a tone of reconciliation that J&K has been apprehensive was not possible under the Modi government. Incidentally, NC vice-president and likely Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reciprocated the gesture.