Jaha ‘Shah’, Waha Raah: BJP's Chanakya Turns Around Party’s Fortune in MP, Chhattisgarh

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. A few months ago, nobody would have really given a chance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the poll-bound state of Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, but the Sunday’s results tell a different story. In this hour of crisis, the saffron party turned to its best strategist or modern-day Chanakya — Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Between BJP chief JP Nadda and Shah, four election-bound states were divided for better management. While the BJP national president was in-charge of Rajasthan and Telangana, Shah kept his focus on Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

As far as the two states in central India were concerned, it was a big challenge for the saffron party — a cadre-driven organization — to keep their party workers motivated amid fatigue.

IN MP

Madhya Pradesh is the saffron party’s oldest bastion, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan being one of the oldest chief ministers in the country. From the time he became the party president, Shah focused largely on booth management and exactly it in Madhya Pradesh too. Man-to-man marking was done for all leaders and the cadre was mobilised.

BJP leader Bhupender Yadav has worked with Shah for a long time and is well-aware of his style of working. Moreover, Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw had worked together as a team in Bengal. So this association, which Shah came up with for Madhya Pradesh, was not new. The two central ministers interacted with party workers at the ground level and got the momentum going. Shah, being the meticulous party leader that he is, took note of every feedback and acted on it.

IN CHHATTISGARH

Chhattisgarh has a deep Gujarat connection. Mansukh Mandaviya, the MoS from Gujarat, and Om Mathur have been in charge of Gujarat for long, coupled with Shah’s strategy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal.

A major task here was activating the party workers on ground who were completely demoralised after the loss in 2018. So, when the party announced its tickets for Chhattisgarh in advance, the two election in-charges oversaw the campaign and advised all leaders to keep low profile and be simple in their approach. Those aware of the development told News18 that initially the BJP candidates practically went on foot from door-to-door seeking support minus any fanfare or large election machinery. Also, the BJP was pretty aware that Bhupesh Baghel was a phenomenon in the state.

“It was decided by the party that the focus will be on the governance of Chhattisgarh, not Baghel. Attacking Baghel would have been counter-productive. The strategy worked perfectly," a source told News18.

Every detail was studied in great depth by Shah, who not only travelled to these two central states for election, but also widely campaigned in Rajasthan and Telangana.

Party leaders, MLAs, MPs and office-bearers were deployed seat-by-seat in these two states, depending on the caste combination. From former minister in the Yogi government Sidharth Nath Singh in Chhattisgarh to tribal leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, the party had all bases covered.

The organisation meetings ran into hours, sometimes even past midnight. The focus was on local issues and the BJP leadership keep telling the workers that they had their back.

Anyone who has studied the political trajectory of Shah knows that he eats sleeps, drinks and breathes politics. These results aren’t really surprising. From 2014 to 2020, this Chanakya has seen the biggest jump in the BJP’s political fortunes. As a top leader, the dependency on him is no less, even if he continues to be a minister in the Modi government.

“When in crisis, the party always says Amit Shah hai na." This is how a top Union Minister describes Shah’s journey from Gujarat to the national capital.