Jeypore: Famous American writer John Podhoretz once had said 'Every great political campaign rewrites the rules'. The 'Main bhi Chowkidar' campaign run by PM Modi has the elements in it when PM Modi described the successful test of A-SAT missile by saying "Now, India has the potential to do 'chowkidari' in space.
And the campaign made a grand entry on the Odisha political shores on Friday when PM Modi in his first election address at Jeypore, in a dramatic way, pitted 'Chowkidar Modi' against 'Naveen' in Odisha. PM Modi asked the electrifying crowd 'who will do your work - Chowkidar or the incumbent Government?' Then he went on to say if the chowkidar could do so in India, why not in Odisha.
Taunting the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD rule, when PM Modi said in Odia "Chowkidar sajag achi" (Chowkidar is alert), the crowd went rapturous. The PM then said only a 'vigilant' government and society could quarantine the virus of corruption in the society. "This chowkidar will join you in your combat against graft in Odisha.'
The import of the first poll address of PM in Odisha indicates the things to come before the big battle of 2019. The campaign of BJP in upcoming 2019 elections will harp on the issue of corruption. The speech of PM Modi is a clear indication. The BJP is planning to hit the ruling BJD where it hurts the most. Because, PM in the same vein asked the enthusiastic crowd, "Do you think those who looted the hard earned money of poor through chit fund scam work for welfare and development?; Will they bring development for the State when they hand over tribal land to mining mafia?"
In his typical style, PM Modi also crafted in the issue of rising violence against women in Odisha to the 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign, when he said only a 'choukus' (alert) and 'Majboot' (decisive) government could ensure safety for women by swiftly bringing the perpetrators to justice. Just stopping short of raking the Kunduli gangrape & suicide in Koraput, PM told the crowd, "You know how women and girl children are vulnerable in Odisha."
Then PM Modi exhorted the crowd to answer whom do they choose, "majboot chowkidar or majboor sarkar?" The impact looked thunderous and crowd went ecstatic. Though Modi stopped short of naming the BJD government a 'majboor' sarkar, he dropped more than enough hints.
The first address of PM Modi dropped all hints that BJP will hit the ground in a big way comparing Modi government's 5-year 'unblemished' track record vis-a-vis 'scam'-hit BJD government's 19-year rule. The narrative of BJP's 2019 campaign in Odisha seems to be between 'chowkidar' era versus 'majboor sarkar' era.