Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an odd claim at the Bharatiya Janata Party victory gathering on Wednesday, after his party’s alliance was...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an odd claim at the Bharatiya Janata Party victory gathering on Wednesday, after his party’s alliance was re-elected.“BJP is the only party whose seats increased in Bihar, even after staying in power for three terms,” Modi said, in a speech narrating the party’s impressive growth nationally over the last decade.
What exactly did Modi mean by this statement?
Was it supposed to be a comment about his party defying anti-incumbency, and expanding despite remaining in power for three consecutive terms? That would be plainly wrong because the BJP has not been in power for three back-to-back terms. It was out of power in 2015, having lost the elections, and only returned in 2017 by convincing the Janata Dal (United) to ditch its alliance partners.
Was it meant to be about how steadily the BJP has grown over its last few elections, whether or not its wins were consecutive? That too would be awkward framing. The party had a far larger vote share in 2015, when it contested alone. It had many more seats in 2010 when it contested with current alliance partner, the Janata Dal (United).
Sniping at Nitish Kumar
The only reading of Modi’s comment seems to be a pretty...
