Urdu word ‘Shahzada’ means a ‘Prince’ and in hindi ‘Yuvraj’.  We are seeing our Hon. PM Modi ji using this word very often during his election speeches. Moreover, this word is not being used as a word of respect or honour for the targeted persons but largely and obviously as slang or mockery. For years, this description was reserved for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. However, a few days back he also referred to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav as Shahzada of SP.

Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh have been jointly campaigning aggressively for candidates of I.N.D.I.A bloc and attracting big cheering crowds everywhere. This scenario must be a big surprise or even cause of concern for the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Our Hon. Prime Minister first called them “DO LADKE”(two lads). Now Akhilesh has been elevated to the status of a Shahzada. We all are familiar with the fact that our PM does not coin a title for his opponents without any reason. There must, therefore, be a reason for this also. The reason seems to be the atmosphere prevailing in the country during the ongoing general elections, and the word (naming) game that draws cheers form the audience when spoken with an undertone of mockery.

In this general elections, there are two big alliances, comprising of multiple political parties in each. One led by BJP is National Democratic Alliance (N.D.A) and the other led by Indian National Congress has been coined I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance). While NDA is basically nothing but BJP and even not BJP but Modiji, the I.N.D.I.A bloc is more democratic in nature with the Congress party taking the onus on itself on many occasions.

Their respective dominant election Manifestoes are  BJP’s Modi ki Guarantee and Congress’s Nyay Patra. The Nyay Patra also consists of  five main guarantees, with each having another five within it making twenty five in total. However, an examination of the guarantees of both groups reveal that every guarantee of the Nyay Patra is well defined, well explained and with a clear road map for its implementation. In addition to this I.N.D.I.A bloc has also added an alleged abrogation of the Indian Constitution by the BJP if it comes to power again. Congress leaders in general and Rahul Gandhi in particular seem to have been able to create a positive impact on the public perception in its favour by constantly hammering on these two things in their countrywide campaign. On the other hand, BJP Manifesto is nowhere being mentioned even by BJP leaders themselves. Right from the beginning of his campaign, Modiji and even other senior leaders or candidates have been talking only about Congress’s manifesto and injecting fears in their core vote bank of its imaginary 'adverse effects'. There is no necessity of elaborating this point. Modiji however, been totally silent on his own Guarantees. This could also be a major reason why he is not responding to the former Judges’ call for a public interaction with Rahul Gandhi on their Poll Campaigns. Rahul has agreed to the public debate, while Modiji is silent.

Like the two competing alliances, the media and social platforms are also sharply divided in two camps namely one given the name ‘Godi Media’ aligned to the ruling parties and other the so called alternate media comprising various YouTube channels mostly floated by people believing in unbiased reporting.

As far as the “Godi Media” is concerned, their reporters are happily gloating that Modiji is returning with 400 plus seats, which view is also being propagated by Modiji in his poll campaigns and his colleagues and alliance partners.

On the other hand as per the alternate media and like minded social media platforms the overall scenario as of date is that BJP is facing tough competition with the opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A. In their view, despite every effort having been made to crush I.N.D.I.A through various means, the alliance is gaining both recognition and strength in every phase of the seven phase elections. This understanding is visible in the fact that in at least 350 seats the combine is having a single candidate and baring TMC they are campaigning jointly. That things are not as thought of by the ruling party is clear in the reactions from their top leaders and in their body language. In view of this the alternate media group is predicting that BJP might even likely lose its majority.

Despite this scenario it will be worth its while that one should keep ones fingers crossed as far as the opinion that the BJP and NDA alliance will not be able to get majority to form government at the centre for the third successive term and that Modi ji will not be able to equal the record of late Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term. Modiji and BJP are too powerful and resourceful to accept defeat so meekly. There are innumerable reasons for this and to elaborate them we will need a separate writeup. Suffice it to say that in both 2014 and 2019 elections, whatever figures their top leadership predicted, they got them. Their estimates this time should also come true with a few numbers deviating on either side.

Be that as it may. The subject matter of this writeup is the newly coined idea of Shahzadas. I.N.D.I.A alliance is a conglomerate of more than twenty five plus small and big parties. However, there are five formidable individuals who are leading their respective parties. Each of them has proved a hard nut to crack and are consistent in their resolve to oppose not only BJP’s rule but its brand of ideology as well. They are Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, M.K. Stalin, Udhav Thakare and Tejasvi Yadav. Modiji has named only two of them so far as Shahzadas. But the other three are also Shahzadas. Udhavji is son of late Bal Thakarey and inherited the Shiv Sena from him. M.K. Stalin has inherited from father late M. Karunanidhi and Tejasvi’s father is senior leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. So in the vocabulary of Modiji the remaining three are also Shahzadas. Interestingly, there are a few Shehzadas in the BJP also, but they do not operated in the same category as those of the I.N.D.I.A alliance.

In conclusion, it may be said that the ongoing 2024 General Elections will be remembered as a Battle Royale between Modiji and the five (I.N.D.I.A) Shahzadas of Indian Politics. Period.

This is a collaborative post and the views expressed are of the author alone.