BJP gains new grounds in 2020 but farmers protest poses challenge
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Last Updated: Dec 31, 2020, 03:42 PM IST
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Synopsis
Mass protests from a large section of farmers, especially from Punjab, against sweeping reforms brought in the agriculture sector through three laws by the Modi government have presented it with one of the most serious challenges since it first came to power in 2014.
The one state that again disappointed the BJP was Kerala where in the local body polls it remained a distant third behind the CPI (M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF alliances.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to convert 'aapda' (crisis) into 'avsar' (opportunity) paid the BJP rich dividends in a year when the COVID-19 convulsed the society and the economy as a mix of the ruling dispensation's welfare measures, organisational might and ideological drive saw the saffron party gain new territories in 2020. Governments in most of the world saw their approval ratings dip as they struggled to contain the raging virus, which hit economy hard everywhere, but Indian politics followed a different script, with the outgoing year marking further shrinking of a rudderless Congress while the ruling BJP soared riding on Modi's enduring appeal. However, challenges emerged for the BJP as the year drew to a close.