New delhi sources stated that the year 2019 will go down as a watershed in the BJP's journey as the party not only achieved its highest ever tally in lok sabha but also realised its decades-long ideological planks with the modi government pushing the saffron agenda with renewed vigour in its second term. Meanwhile it was not altogether a smooth run for the bjp as regional satraps in alliance with the congress succeeded in dethroning it in maharashtra and jharkhand while nationwide protests against the citizenship law and the concept of National Register for Citizens pushed it on the defensive.
Furthermore the scale of protests prompted its top leaders, including prime minister narendra modi and party president amit shah, to decouple the citizenship amendment act (CAA) with the NRC, and it remains uncertain as to how the saffron party will push on with its ideological agenda in the face of mounting challenges. Perhaps all debated and done, party leaders are likely to look back at 2019 with more than a touch of satisfaction as the year saw nullification of article 370, criminalization of triple talaq, enactment of caa and a supreme court order paving the way for ram temple construction in ayodhya, issues which have agitated Hindutva cadres for decades.
Further if the outgoing year again highlighted the appeal of 'brand Modi', it also brought to light the BJP's vulnerability in state elections when the prime minister and national issues are not driving factors for the common voter's choice and the year also saw the rise and rise of Shah as he after being inducted as the home minister in the second modi government was the face of the central dispensation in pushing its major decisions with distinct ideological hues.
