Shah’s confidence, in fact, stemmed from the hundreds of hours he spent talking to party workers toiling on the ground and he, the results show, certainly knew what he was talking about.It was sometime in the end of July, when Congress was perceived to be enjoying an upper hand in Madhya Pradesh, thatShah flew in to Indore just to meet party workers.
Watch: BJP workers in Delhi celebrate massive win in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh polls
During the closed-door meeting, party insiders told TOI, Shah raised the issue of BJP falling short of Congress’s tally in 2018 and said that the party could post its biggest ever win if it approaches with a gameplan. He said that the party had in 2018 fallen short by seven seats, and although it managed to increase its vote share, it demoralised party workers across the country.
“Why did we lose? The gains from our wins in Assam and Manipur, which were like a desert for us, were less than the impact of the loss in MP,” sources quoted him telling BJP functionaries, while repeatedly underlining the importance the state played in BJP’s bid to retain its control across crucial states. He told partymen that BJP’s ride to Parliament must pass through Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
Like a cricket team captain, Shah suggested party workers bury the past and seek to get into a winning habit if BJP had to remain in power for long.
“We have to work with only one mission – to win every seat in our district,” he said while exhorting workers to move in a calculated manner, like a battle formation. He wanted party workers to deliver a simple message – “meri sarkar achhi sarkar” (my government is a good government). The idea was to list out achievements and counter anti-incumbency, and for 120 days till counting was over.
Shah’s style is like that of a general who does not feel shy of getting workers to repeat the message during internal meetings and listing out the minutest detail – from convening meetings of grassroots level functionaries to increased focus on booths, where the party did not fare very well. Party workers at every level in the chain were given specific tasks and the results were monitored closely.
From selection of candidates to poll strategy and calibrating the approach, the former party president was in the thick of action.
Between September and mid-November, Shah held 33 meetings in the state, setting the stage for PM Narendra Modi to launch the offensive and deliver BJP’s best show in 20 years.
In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, where almost all pollsters had declared Congress the victor, Shah was confident of a BJP victory all along, addressing a dozen events in the state where BJP emphatically returned to office after being ousted five years ago. The focus on the two states was in addition to the active campaigning he did in Rajasthan and Telangana. While Shah attended a dozen meetings in Rajasthan, there were 23 he attended in the southern state, where BJP significantly improved its tally.