DR SHIBEN KRISHEN RAINA
For the third time, the NDA government has been formed at the center and along with this, Mr. Narendra Damodardas Modi has also become the Prime Minister of the country for the third time. He has become the second leader of the country who has set a record of becoming the PM for the third consecutive term. Until now, this record was in the name of the country’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. On June 9, 2024, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises in Delhi, Narendra Modi, unanimously elected leader by the NDA, took oath as the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive term, creating history.
However, Modi did not get the same mandate in his third term as in the previous two terms.
This time in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP failed to achieve a majority on its own. In this Lok Sabha election, the Congress and the ‘India’ alliance performed relatively better and succeeded in stopping the BJP’s advance in many areas of the Hindi belt including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Nevertheless, it is because of the BJP’s vast political presence that it has emerged as the single largest party by winning 240 seats in the third consecutive Lok Sabha election.
After taking over for the first time in 2014, Modi is facing a strong opposition for the first time now. Especially due to the BJP’s poor performance in Uttar Pradesh. In this state, which sends the maximum of eighty MPs to the Lok Sabha, the SP-Congress alliance has pushed back the BJP-led alliance.
Along with the Lok Sabha elections, elections were also held for the Odisha Legislative Assembly, in which the BJP won a massive majority.
This is the first time that the BJP will form a government on its own there. In Telangana too, the number of BJP MPs has doubled, while in Kerala, which has remained untouched so far, BJP has opened its account for the first time. BJP leaders say that these achievements highlight Prime Minister Modi’s nationwide appeal.
Now that Modi has taken over the reins for the third term, the BJP hopes that he will once again prove his opponents wrong and continue to strengthen the party with new ideas in politics along with his policies and the basic mantra of Hindutva, development and ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ while taking the country forward.
Bowing before the mandate, the Prime Minister said that his third term will witness some new and big decisions. Okay, big goals can only be achieved through big decisions.
But if these big decisions keep revolving around religion or temples-mosques, it is worth remembering that, no doubt, such decisions arouse public sentiments and bring immediate benefits, but overall, they create an atmosphere of bitterness and resentment in the long run, both within the country and abroad. The BJP’s loss of the Faizabad (Ayodhya) seat is a glaring example of this.
Harmony promotes harmony and creates a pleasant environment, while aggression leads to tension.
Harmony is another name for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. True development comes only from the implementation of public welfare schemes. This will help curb unemployment, inflation, corruption, etc.
It is hoped that Modi’s third term will bring a message of prosperity and all-round development for the people of the country.
(The writer is former Fellow IIAS, Shimla).
