ANALYSIS
Swachh Bharat campaign had a major role to play in BJP government’s spectacular poll success
In India, one of the most unedifying sights of an early morning rail ride is mass scale defecation along the tracks, in the villages as the train chugs along and in the open fields, where crops provide a cover for concluding one of nature’s most elementary acts.
Of all the flagship programmes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first term, one that seems to have carried the day is the Swachh Bharat mission. Its impact on the hundreds of millions of Indians, especially women, deprived of basic sanitation facilities, can scarcely be underestimated.
An important part of the Modi persona has been the BJP-led NDA government’s flagship programmes like the Jan Dhan Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana and Ayushman Bharat, among others. But in terms of impact on the common voter, the Swachh Bharat mission should be considered the high water mark.
The Swachh Bharat or cleanliness programme, a nationwide campaign that aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India’s cities, towns, and rural areas, can be safely assumed to have impacted BJP’s electoral prospects, ahead of any other public welfare programme launched by the Modi government. Sure, one factor is never enough to tilt the balance in a party’s favour, yet certain facts are worthy of consideration.
On October 2, 2014, Modi launched the nation-wide cleanliness campaign on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. The concept of Swachh Bharat is to provide sanitation facilities to every family, including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village cleanliness and safe and adequate drinking water supply. Modi’s pledges to keep the environment clean were met with sniggers from a class of people, who had never faced sanitation issues in their lives. But they, as luck would have it, were not the archetypal Indian voter.
To the professional historian, the prospects of Modi, a former RSS pracharak, invoking Gandhi would be anathema, but the prime minister went ahead nonetheless. In Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s memorable words, “Sanitation is more important than independence”. He made cleanliness and sanitation an integral part of his agitational politics.
In his newspaper Navajivan (November 2, 1919), Gandhi famously wrote: “In some countries spitting on the road is a criminal offence. Those who spit after chewing betel leaves and tobacco have no consideration for the feelings of others. Spittle, mucus from the nose, etc, should also be covered with earth.”
At the official launch of the Swachh Bharat campaign, Modi — who has a way with words — called it ‘Satyagraha se Swachhagrah’ in reference to Gandhi’s Champaran agitation in favour of indigo farmers. The mission had two thrusts: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (rural), which operates under the ministry of drinking water and sanitation and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (urban), which works under the aegis of the ministry of housing and urban affairs. According to the latest data, the government has constructed 86 million toilets since 2014 under the mission, reducing the number of open defecations from 550 million to fewer than 150 million in 2018.
In 2017, the government cited a UNICEF Survey carried out in 10,000 households across the country to claim that the Swachh Bharat Mission was meeting its targets, three years after its launch. The survey, conducted across 12 states, stated that 85 per cent members of the households studied were using toilets.
While government data should rightly be regarded with scepticism, in political terms, an idea had been thrown open in the public domain, coming from the highest office in the country. Somewhere the worm had turned, despite the Congress branding it as a mediocre idea, when it was first announced.
Now, from the benefit of hindsight, one can say that the prime minister knew all along what he was doing. As early as March last year, obviously with an eye on the on 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Modi urged chief ministers of BJP-ruled states to expedite implementation of welfare schemes and to take his government’s flagship programmes to the masses.
At this crucial meeting, work done by different states were discussed and deliberations were held on coordination between the Centre and the states for effective implementation of the government’s flagship schemes, in particular, the health insurance scheme. Even though the health scheme, promoted as NaMo Care, has not made as many waves as the party expected, it’s implementation in Modi’s second term, could be a potential winner.
The importance of social welfare programmes seem to have been driven home, even if it was not so evident during the course of political discourse in a virulent campaign. Chief ministers present at this meeting were asked to submit a report on the implementation of the welfare schemes. The support that Modi has got from the country’s 48 per cent women voters makes a good study for researchers. His ambitious social welfare scheme —Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana —with the aim of providing 5 crore LPG connections to women below the poverty line across the country, took a heavy toll on the opposition campaign. It seemed a strategic decision to reach out to women in a scheme aimed at replacing unclean cooking fuels, used mostly in rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG gas.
Election results, particularly in UP where the prime minister was able to develop a connection with women at large, seem to reflect in the UP Lok Sabha results.
(Author is Senior Editor, DNA)
'We don't encourage...': Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal launches new feature 'Food Rescue' to reduce...
Before Pakistani TikTok star Minahil Malik, actress Rida Isfahani's MMS video leaked online by...
Watch: Virat Kohli gets annoyed at Mumbai airport, asks paps to stay away from…
Watch: David Miller's spectacular one-handed catch shocks Tilak Varma in IND vs SA 2nd T20I
Do you see 11:11? What's the secret behind this number?
'Najar Na Lage': Sidhu Moosewala’s parents perform annaprashan ceremony for chota Sidhu, watch
Baba Siddique murder case: Main shooter, 4 others arrested in UP
Justice Sanjiv Khanna to be sworn in as 51st Chief Justice of India tomorrow
Delhi Pollution: Air quality remains in 'very poor' zone, AQI reaches over 330
'Fictosexual': Japanese man celebrates six years of marriage with his virtual wife
J-K: Army officer martyred, 3 soldiers injured in gunfight with terrorists in Kishtwar
This is world's richest politician, much wealthier than Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, he is...
Want a bride-like glow? Try Deepika Padukone’s secret juice for perfect glow
Meet Robin Passi, billionaire heir and son of Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives fame Shalini Passi
Tulsi Vivah 2024 Time: Date, shubh muhurat, rituals and significance
MrBeast, Logan Paul ride rickshaw in Mumbai, distribute chocolates to paparazzi; WATCH viral video
Azim Premji buys stakes worth Rs 4757 crore in Rs 297000 crore company
'This is just exploitation...': Video of woman sleeping with lion cubs goes viral, watch
Rihanna retiring from music? Singer says 'God had other plans', leaves fans worried
India's first high-speed railway test track worth Rs 820 crore getting constructed in...
Mukesh Ambani loses Rs 74563 crore in 5 days, Reliance emerges as biggest...
Congress veteran leader, 5 times MLA Mateen Ahmed joins AAP ahead of 2025 Delhi Assembly polls
AUS vs PAK: Pakistan script history in Perth, win ODI series on Australian soil after 22 years
'Ask Rahul Gandhi to praise Savarkar, Balasaheb...': Amit Shah's fierce attack on Uddhav Thackeray
Hidden danger in your spice rack: Turmeric's lead contamination crisis
Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2024: When is Devutthana Prabodhini Ekadashi vrat? Know date and significance
J-K: Fresh encounter breaks out in Kishtwar between security forces, terrorists
No water supply for 16 hours on November 11 in THIS part of Delhi, check details
Viral video: Man finds live worm in pizza ordered online, furious netizens demand action, WATCH
How many meals in a day is healthy for Indians?
New health directive in Tamil Nadu, Government declares THIS as notifiable disease
How Indian airports are becoming hubs for drug-trafficking?
Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Union Home Minister Amit Shah releases BJP manifesto
J-K: Exchange of fire between terrorists, security forces in forest area of Srinagar
'These kids will regret': Kartik Aaryan fans IGNORE Sonu Nigam, viral video leaves netizens angry
Liam Payne's death 'NOT' suicide: Autopsy reveals One Direction singer died due to...
Delhi Ganesh, Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 co-star, passes away
Why paper cuts hurt so much: Surprising science explained
Donald Trump marks second term victory with formation of inaugural committee for 2025
Citadel Honey Bunny review: Varun Dhawan, Samantha try powering this dull series
Meet Malaysia's richest Indian, owns private satellites, his net worth is Rs...
Delhi-NCR update: AQI improves slightly but remains in 'very poor' category
Meet woman who was first DSP, cracked UPSC exam to become collector, was jailed due to...
SA vs IND, 2nd T20I: Predicted playing XIs, live streaming details, weather and pitch report
SA vs IND, 2nd T20I Dream11 prediction: Fantasy cricket tips for South Africa vs India match
Viral Video: Bride's squad dances to 'Jadoo Ki Jhappi' song at wedding, win hearts online
Viral video: Little girl's adorable dance to 'Gulabi Sadi' leaves internet wanting more, watch
Meet man who built Rs 4500 crore company with MS Dhoni’s help, his business is…
Meet woman, who survived cancer, owns 10 private jets, her net worth is…
MBBS in Russia: Why do Indian students prefer studying medicals in Russia, why not India?
Amid divorce rumours, Aishwarya Rai reveals if she checks Abhishek Bachchan’s phone in viral video
DNA TV Show: Why Ajit Pawar distances himself from CM Yogi's slogan 'Batenge toh katenge'?