Homework | ‘Prospering India’: PM Modi’s Pitch to Voters Ahead of 2024 Citing Two Reports

For the second time in a week after Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke on the recent report of NITI Aayog which says 13.5 crore Indians moved out of the poverty net in the past five years. This time, he also mentioned the latest State Bank of India (SBI) report which spoke of a three-fold jump in the weighted mean income of tax-payers from 2014.

These two reports paint a picture of ‘prospering India’, where while nearly 10% of the population has moved out of the poverty net under the PM Modi regime, there has also been a significant transition of another set of population from the lower-income group to upper-income group.

Together, these sections of the erstwhile poor and the lower middle class are also the strong votaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and especially the Modi-led party. In 2014, it was the middle class and the poor who voted strongly for Modi in a bid to say good-bye to the “corrupt" United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. In 2019, the poor rallied even more strongly behind Modi as he had given them the benefits of a house and LPG cylinders under the PM Awas Yojana and the PM Ujjwala Yojana.

The pitch by the BJP is that Modi has delivered for voters who reposed faith in him, and also those who did not, and has empowered them by putting more money or benefits in their hands. Modi seemed to refer to the same in his address at a ‘Rozgar Mela’ on Monday, when he said there was an atmosphere of optimism in the country as a result of positive decisions and a constructive mindset of the government. He then referred to “two big news coming" in the past few days – “which speak of reducing poverty and increasing prosperity". The PM then cited the SBI report to point to increasing number of tax returns filed this year and increase in the income of people.

“In 2014, the average income was about Rs 4 lakh, which has now risen to about Rs 13 lakh. People going from the lower income group to upper income group has also increased. These statistics not only boost our morale, but also show that every sector in the country is gaining strength and new employment opportunities are resulting," the Prime Minister said.

He said the increasing number of IT returns show that people’s confidence in their government was also increasing. “Citizens are honestly paying income tax in big numbers as they know their tax money will be used for development of the country," the Prime Minister further said, in a swipe at the Congress.

PM Modi cited the two reports to make a political point saying the citizens will never forget the pre-2014 era of corruption and scams and how the poor were denied their rights. “They know that before 2014, the economy which was at 10th place is now at the fifth place. Today, the full money for the poor goes into his or her bank account. We have focused more on spending on the welfare of the poor as we have stopped leakages," the PM further said.

The pitch is simple – Modi has proved true on people’s trust to make them more prosperous and ensure money comes to them without leakages.

ANOTHER KEY REPORT FOR UTTAR PRADESH TOO

To win big in 2024, a sweep in 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh is vital, on the lines of the Prime Minister projecting a ‘transformative’ picture of the country.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is also citing the change brought about in UP on the front of investments and industry. The Chief Minister on Sunday cited the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) August 2023 bulletin to say how UP tops in total cost share of projects sanctioned by banks and financial institutions for the second year in a row with a 16.2% share. “The figures presented in the RBI bulletin indicate that under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh has not only gained the trust of investors from across the country and the world, but also from all national banks and financial institutions," the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement.

During the Monsoon session of the legislative assembly, opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav had mocked the one-trillion economy resolution of the Yogi government.

“The Reserve Bank of India’s August 2023 bulletin not only validates Chief Minister Yogi’s arguments, but also provides a strong response to critics. The last two years have seen an increase of 11.8% in the state’s share of project costs, speaking volumes about the effective governance and leadership of the Chief Minister," the UP government said.