'Narendra Modi vs Chaos' at play, says Arun Jaitley

Describing Opposition parties as "multiple disparate forces" and "4H club of hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday asserted that Indians will never choose "chaos as an option" in the 2019 elections.

The Opposition is adopting a "two-fold strategy" of negative anti-Modi agenda and political groups together to take advantage of the electoral arithmetic, Jaitley wrote in a Facebook blog titled 'Agenda for 2019 – Modi Vs. Chaos'.

"A negative campaign works when there is a strong anti-incumbency either against the government or against the leader. Anti-incumbency is a process by which the government of the day loses an election and the opposition wins by default. Unhappy people vote a government out. When there is a comfort level with the government and its leader, a set of more satisfied people vote a government back."

The Lok Sabha elections will be "more presidential", he said, adding that the BJP and NDA have to be prepared for a battle for a 50 per cent vote in the "direct fight contest". Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the "most popular, decisive and dynamic" leader of the present set of politicians, he wrote, "It is obvious that the level of satisfaction with Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi is very high. If that weren't so, where was the need for multiple disparate forces to come together against him? It is only the fear of his popularity and comeback that is bringing them together."

PM Modi's emphasis on ethics, decisiveness, growth-oriented politics, has made an aspirational India to "accept" him, Jaitley said. Modi singularly "decimated" all caste-based parties and dynastic political groups in 2014, wrote Jaitley. He said the Opposition is making PM Modi's continuation in office as a key political issue.

Underlining that "experimented", "tried" and "failed ideas" only "scare" the voters, the Finance Minister said, "What has been presented by the opposition is a post-election leadership battle, no common programme, no policy and a disastrous memory of their administrative disabilities."

"If a second term for Prime Minister Modi is the issue, it is advantage BJP. If negativism is the political campaign in an aspirational nation, it won't work. If arithmetic is the only hope, the Modi chemistry can prevail over it," he said.

On the recent Kolkata rally of the opposition parties, Jaitley said "negativism" was the flavour. "There was not a single speech reflecting the positive idea which the leaders proposed for the future," he said.

"Two-third of those on stage were those who in the past have worked with the BJP. Some octogenarians reached Kolkata to satisfy their late-life ambitions," he added.

Calling the Opposition block as "sham unity arithmetic", Jaitley said, "The Didi of West Bengal wants a combination of the political adventurists to back her. From the ultra-adventurist Chief Minister of Delhi to the discards of the BJP, there are not too many takers for her. The presence of the National Conference, RJD and DMK leaders was a ritual."

He further said, "The Behanji of Uttar Pradesh has a clear strategy – play it hard to get. She believes that in India, only caste matters. KCR is presently the exponent of a non-Congress, non-BJP front."

Observing that the individual strategy of each one of the parties is to replace Modi and get on to the driver's seat, the Finance Minister said the Congress, if it chooses, can at best be the "pillion rider".

The Finance Minister said opposition politics has thrown up "four desirous prime ministers" wishing to challenge Prime Minister Modi.

"On the surface, it was an anti-Modi rally. More significantly it was also a non-Rahul Gandhi rally. The opposition politics has thrown up four desirous prime ministers wishing to challenge Prime Minister Modi. Besides Mamata Banerjee, the other three – Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and KCR were significantly absent in Kolkata," he said.

Describing the opposition parties as 4H club "hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history", the Finance Minister said, "People are more intelligent than what many politicians think about them. They never choose chaos as an option."

Giving the example of 1971 general elections, Jaitley said Mahagathbandhan today is "different" from those days. Stating that that time there were powerful leaders in the opposition camp, Jaitley recalled how the Congress had split into two. "The India of 2019 has moved way ahead of India of 1971," he said.

Many Disparate Forces

In a Facebook post, Jaitley punches holes in the Opposition strategy to counter PM Modi in 2019 polls. His takes:

• Opposition parties are a 4H club – “hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history”
• The Kolkata rally was anti-Modi on the face of it, but actually a non-Rahul rally
• The Behenji of Uttar Pradesh [Mayawati] believes that in India, only caste matters
• Lok Sabha polls will be “more presidential”. BJP and NDA have to be prepared for a battle for a 50% vote in the “direct contest”