Arun Jaitley’s blog post, New Delhi, 15 April 2014

A leading news channel yesterday gave the results of their tracker opinion poll. This poll gave to the BJP 226 seats in parliament and to the NDA an absolute majority of 275 seats. This is the first opinion poll to have given an absolute majority to the NDA. I believe that this poll has captured the emerging trend. As polling date approaches closer in every phase, the groundswell becomes clearer. There are two clear trends in the groundswell, its anger against the Congress and the hope in Narendra Modi. My own view is that the actual poll always results in the front runner getting more than what is projected.

As the Congress shrinks further, its campaign has resulted in a naught. The campaign is too abstract and confused. The message is not clear. The Congress Party changed track yesterday. Rahul Gandhi led campaign and the accompanying advertisements were given a backseat. The Congress President Sonia Gandhi herself decided to lead from the front. She addressed the country by booking television time on all channels.

The desperation was clear. Speeches, interviews and press conferences of political leaders are always covered by the media. The Congress President does not have to buy television time in order to have her speech conveyed to the people. The idea was to change the principle communicator of the party from the son to the mother. This was an expression of lack of confidence in Rahul Gandhi, in as much as his speeches to the people were not working. Messages on paid television time cannot last minute change the electoral agenda. Price rise, mismanagement of the economy, corruption, dilution of the office of Prime Minister cannot be a part of either ‘Bhartiyata’ or ‘Hindustaniat’. This message will not click. The only message yesterday’s speech of Sonia Gandhi telecasted on paid television time is that Congress party’s new slogan now is “Mein Nahin Mom”.