Across the aisle: Will Mr Modi win sabka vishwas?

There is something that Modi has discerned which, perhaps, others in his party have failed to grasp: that it is not enough to get the votes of the Dalits, the Muslims, the Christians and the very poor, it is necessary to win their trust.

narendra modi, PM modi, PM modi second term, modi 2.0, modi in parliament, BJP, NDA, Lok sabha bjp results — PM Narendra Modi. (Source: PIB/PTI/File)

The mandate that Mr Narendra Modi received is undeniably huge. Of course, there have been occasions in the past when a political party got more seats than 303 in a Lok Sabha election. Some examples are Indira Gandhi in 1980 (353) and Rajiv Gandhiin 1984 (404). But the circumstances were different: Indira Gandhi had waged a brave struggle against an unpopular coalition government, suffered many forms of harassment including imprisonment, and almost single-handedly won back the support of the people who had defeated her party and her (in Rae Bareli). In the case of Rajiv Gandhi, he rode a wave of sympathy that had been triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.