Hundreds of workers were seen dancing to the beat of drums and throwing coloured dyes around - in some cases, literally painting the town red - at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi on Thursday as the results of the state assembly elections were announced.
As staffers celebrated, senior politicians, spokesmen, and media panellists briefed press organisations about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and his government's policies guided the party to an unequivocal victory in the polls.
In an interview with Sputnik, BJP’s national media panellist Charu Pragya highlighted various important aspects.
Sputnik: How do you view the results of the state assembly elections?
Charu Pragya: The BJP has worked really hard for the elections. We had the majority in these states and now our government is continuing.
In fact, in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand we are making history.
In Uttar Pradesh, this is the first time in 37 years that a government has been re-elected, and in Uttarakhand, this is the first time a party has formed the government for a second consecutive term.
This is a stamp of approval for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and policies and the fact that these policies have been effectively implemented by the sitting state governments.
Sputnik: When the elections were announced, the opposition party - Samajwadi Party - was quite confident and aggressive in its approach. How did the BJP confront it?
Charu Pragya: The Samajwadi Party in 2022 followed the same pattern it used in 2017 and 2019 which was to try to set a narrative showing people that they were winning. But it is far from the truth: the reality is very different.
The fact is that the people of the country don’t want to be divided. It is also the case that if a party engages in communal politics and makes favourites of certain special interest groups among the voters and citizens, it will not win the elections.
Our approach has been sincere and humble. We don’t take any vote for granted.
Sputnik: The Samajwadi Party was also riding high on its Muslim-Yadav (MY, social community) combination. What strategy did the BJP adopt to handle it?
Charu Pragya: The MY combination of the Samajwadi Party is very divisive. They said that Muslim-Yadav would vote for them. But the BJP countered it with its own MY (Modi-Yogi) combination.
The BJP’s MY combination talks about “Sabka Sath, Sabka Saath” (Collective Efforts, Inclusive Growth). We have always believed that any kind of narrative which is positive will bear fruit.
Sputnik: Congress also tried to set a tone by announcing 40 percent assembly tickets to women. Wasn't it a threat to the BJP?
Charu Pragya: It was never a threat. It was just political posturing. In Uttar Pradesh, they said that they want to give 40 percent tickets to women candidates, but only because they knew that their chances there were extremely low.
So, they only wanted to pretend that they are pro-women and working for public welfare.
If this were genuinely their policy across the country, why wasn’t it followed in Punjab where only 7 percent of women were given tickets or in Goa where it was even lower?
If they were really pro-women, the percentage of tickets given to women would have been constant across the states.
Sputnik: It is often said that the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections foretells which party will win the 2024 Parliamentary Elections. What are your thoughts about it?
Charu Pragya: Well, this has been said because we are heading closer to the 2024 Parliamentary elections and Uttar Pradesh has the largest population. However, it doesn’t matter for the BJP whether it is the state polls or the parliamentary polls.
The only narrative that works is sheer goodwill, honesty and being pro-people. I don’t think any of the opposition parties in India stand for these basic principles.
Sputnik: The Aam Aadmi Party has secured a big victory in Punjab. Can we see that as an alternative to the BJP and the Congress in due course?
Charu Pragya: We respect the wish of the people and it is paramount. So, I congratulate the Aam Aadmi Party for their victory in Punjab.
However, it is worrisome for me because Punjab is a border state and senior members of the Aam Aadmi Party have voiced anti-India, pro-Pakistan views and pro-Khalistan [Sikh separatism] links in their party.
A lot of their money has come from those forces. So, it’s not a very good precedent. But again I would respect the people’s wishes. However, I hope that better sense prevails among the politicians in Aam Aadmi Party who now have a chance to serve the people of Punjab.