Scion of India's first family steps up

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, face a tough battle to win re-election in the upcoming general elections, especially after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty joined active politics.

Priyanka was appointed as party general secretary in charge of the eastern part of the politically crucial and most populous Uttar Pradesh state. Her formal political debut on Feb 11 with a major roadshow in Lucknow, the state capital, has displayed a strong will to revive the Congress party's moribund political network in the north Indian state.

Commentators have publicly noted Priyanka's resemblance to her late grandmother Indira Gandhi, a former prime minister who was popular as India's Iron Lady. Her brother Rahul Gandhi, also Congress president, stood by her side.

The enthusiastic public reaction to Priyanka's roadshow seems to have worried the top BJP leadership, as they recognize her ability to attract and build an upper-caste vote bank. Political pundits also noted that some of the derogatory comments against her clearly reflect the desperation in the BJP camp.

Late last year, the defeat by the Congress of the BJP in local assembly elections in three key Indian states also further demoralized the ruling party. BJP's worry is evident from the fact that it has gone back to its old fallback option of playing up religious sentiments by promising to build a temple to the revered Hindu god Ram at the disputed Ayodhya site in UP state.

Modi and the BJP leadership may opt to go on the offensive politically. Yet one issue will continue to give them sleepless nights: allegations of corruption, the same weapon Modi himself used before.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, or NDA, came to power in 2014 by winning a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament. The NDA had cruised to victory by successfully leveraging public disgust over allegations of corruption in government decisions that dented the image of the previous Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government.

With the next general elections due to be held between April and May, the opposition Congress party is keen to turn the tables on Modi. Hence the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has been making increasingly strident accusations of corruption and favoritism in the deal signed by Modi's government to acquire the Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.

The BJP-led government has done itself no favors by refusing to share the full details regarding the Rafale deal by citing national security. The high decibel accusations and rebuttals have only confused the common man.

"Now people are pointing fingers at the government's reluctance to share basic information about the Rafale deal as new revelations continue to come out at regular intervals. That is going to cost the BJP dear in the coming polls," explained political analyst DM Diwakar.

"Instead of providing the answers being sought by the opposition, the prime minister is targeting the Gandhis (who lead the Congress party) in his speech, which has not gone down well with the masses. As such, the situation has slipped out of his hands," Diwakar added.

Apart from accusations of graft against the previous Congress-led UPA coalition governments, two other factors worked wonders for Modi in the 2014 general elections. The first was Modi's origins in a socially backward Hindu community. He also played up his "chaiwalla" (tea-seller) image.

Now, though, he is dogged by his government's demonetization of major Indian bank notes in November 2016 and subsequent prolonged currency shortages.

There remains strong resentment among the masses over the economic slowdown in the aftermath of the botched demonetization plan. A business newspaper reported that India's unemployment rate rose to a 45-year high during 2017-18. The situation indeed looks tough for the BJP this time.

Manoj Chaurasia is a freelancing journalist for China Daily.