‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’: Modi’s 2047 Message As BJP Faces Key Poll Tests

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 25 years in public life on Wednesday, he reiterated his promise of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. PM Modi pointed out that while the union government was working on the idea of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, the biggest challenge before the country was division within the society on vote bank lines.

He was speaking at a public meeting, ‘Seva Jyoti’ event organized in Delhi where he categorically stated that the benefits of the government must reach all the rightful beneficiaries and no rightful beneficiary should be left out.

“The motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas has been the foundation of good governance for me. The country has faced major tragedies and society was divided for vote-bank only for the sake of politics. If water does not reach the fields, who will suffer? Is it that farmers of only one caste would be affected by this? If there is no electricity, does darkness impact the homes of only one community? The answer for all these is ‘No’. If there are problems that impact everyone, then the solutions must also be for everyone. We have to strive for good governance and ensure that every beneficiary is included and no eligible person should be left out,” said Modi on at the event to celebrate his 25 years in public service.

The message comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led union government is being cornered by the opposition parties on allegations of discrepancies in some of the decisions taken by the Election Commission and also over the controversial SIR (Special Intensive Revision) undertaken by the EC.

Sending a clear message to the members of the BJP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Modi said that a lot of people viewed his 25 years in public service as an achievement but he chose to live his life for a mission and not ambition.

“I have been a person who has lived for a mission, not my personal ambition. Talking about his experience as the head of the government, and experience for the past 25 years is viewed as an achievement. It is not a matter of personal glorification for me. I have never even stopped to consider what I would become in life or what will be in my future. My upbringing and values ​​instilled in me since childhood taught me to live my life for a mission, not for personal ambition,” PM said.

Focus On Beneficiaries To Tackle Congress

The message of the PM for the BJP comes just as the NDA prepares to protect its government in at least 8 election bound states in the next two years. The challenge for the BJP is that in all these states, it is facing a direct contest against its archrival Congress.  

Interestingly, the political battles between BJP-NDA combine and the opposition parties will gather even more steam as the NDA parties will have to protect their governments in 11 states in the next two years before the 2029 general elections.

“The beneficiaries are an important aspect of the BJP’s campaign because they have helped the BJP transform its social base and voter base dramatically in the past 12 years of the government at the national level. The beneficiaries of different programmes of the union government and state governments of BJP have helped the expand its social base in villages and rural areas,” AK Verma, Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Politics (CSSP), told Outlook.   

With polls in Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand just three months away, PM’s message to focus on beneficiaries and reaching out to people could help the BJP tackle the opposition parties, especially the Congress.

With over 50 crore beneficiaries who have received benefits from the union government under different scheme, the BJP leadership is banking on these beneficiaries to help them retain power in the election bound states.

BJP Undertakes Month Long Celebrations

As PM Modi completes 25 years in public life, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using the opportunity to start a month-long outreach programme. The BJP leadership has combined the celebrations of PM’s 76th birthday and 25 years in public service to expand its social base.

The outreach programme, Seva Sankalp Divas, started on the birthday of PM Modi and would continue till October 17. The BJP leadership will cover at least ten states through public meetings, road shows, bike rallies and blood donation camps in the month long celebrations.

“The PM’s message to BJP and NDA leaders has come at an important stage because there is a continuous confrontation between the NDA and opposition over the functioning of the constitutional institutions. It is only the verdict of the people in the coming elections will justify if the opposition has managed to convince the people of these allegations or not,” Verma said.     

The journey of PM Modi started as chief minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001, when he took oath as the chief minister of Gujarat. PM has remained in public office since 2001, and he won the Gujarat elections three consecutive times. PM Modi became the leader of the union government in 2014 after the BJP led NDA won a majority on its own for the first time.