From ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’ to ‘Make in India’, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance has used eye-catching slogans to not only woo voters but also to promote its schemes
Since taking the reins of power in 2014, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance has not only transformed India socially and economically, but also used eye-catching slogans to draw the attention of voters and promote its schemes.
Here’s a look at eight slogans that became popular during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time in office:
‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’
Arguably the big daddy of them all, this slogan, coined by ad man Piyush Pandey, grabbed the attention of voters and helped the BJP win a huge victory in 2014.
Pandey, while acknowledging the popularity of the catch-phrase in an interview with CNBC, says the work of party members will affect voters. “No election, no advertising campaign can win you an election, it is those people who work day in day out on the ground to keep contact with the likes of you and me,” he said.
“It would be fooling yourself to say that you made the difference. You did your job well, somebody did fantastic bowling and you held the catch nicely,” Pandey added.
However, such was its effectiveness that it was even used by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump: “Ab ki baar Trump sarkar” to woo Indian-American voters weeks before the US polls.
‘Har har Modi, ghar ghar Modi’
This slogan keeps cropping up whenever the prime minister makes a visit overseas. In fact just this morning, the prime minister, on a visit to Japan, was welcomed by throngs of Indian diaspora chanting it at the airport.
However, the slogan itself, modified from the ‘Har har Mahadev’ chant, has been the object of some controversy since its inception.
Explaining the genesis of the chant to The Hindu, then Uttar Pradesh BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai said it was created ‘by chance’ when then prime ministerial candidate Modi was addressing a Jhansi rally in 2013.
“A party worker was casually raising the slogan. I liked it and adopted it. It quickly became popular among the cadres,” he said.
In fact, after some Hindu seers and Opposition parties raised objection Modi himself asked his supporters to refrain from using this slogan in 2014.
“Some enthusiastic supporters have been using the slogan ‘Har Har Modi’. I respect their enthusiasm, but request them not to use this slogan in the future,” Modi tweeted on the microblogging site Twitter.
‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’
The education of girls – and empowering women – has been a priority of the Modi government since coming to power with the prime minister constantly exhorted society to educate and uplift women in his speeches.
The Centre in 2015 launched the ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’ scheme – said to be close to the prime minister’s heart – with an initial funding of Rs 100 crore.
The scheme is run jointly by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and Ministry of Human Resources Development (MoHRD).
More recently, international chess player woman FIDE master Tanishka Kotia and her sister Riddhika Kotia were chosen as brand ambassadors from Gurugram for the scheme.
‘Minimum government, maximum governance’
Prior to taking power in 2014, Modi sought to articulate his vision of a ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ principle, which put many in mind of former US president Ronald Reagan and his affinity for ‘small government’.
It is a slogan Modi has returned to consistently, exhorting those working in civil service to put the concept into practice and cautioning them against developing a ‘babu mindset’.
Expounding on the concept in an interview with Aaj Tak prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Modi said, “Earlier my Cabinet note would take six months to reach the entire Cabinet. But now it takes only 15 days. This is what minimum government and maximum governance is. Same number of people but the result is more. Earlier, we had to travel abroad to sign an MOU. I said nothing doing, just do a video conference and we’ll only go once it’s finalised.”
“Till now, I have cleared projects worth around Rs 12 lakh crore in just an hour. These projects were pending for over 30-40 years. This is what minimum government is. I maintain that it’s not government’s responsibility to run a hotel, you might have seen that we are doing disinvestment slowly,” Modi added.
‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’
The prime minister has referred to sabka saath, sabka vikas’ as the “basic mantra” of the party and its mission is to work for the country and its development.
A theme the prime minister has hit upon consistently since 2019, this gained such a foothold in the Indian mindspace that his tweet following the Lok Sabha polls became 2019’s ‘golden tweet’ (the most retweeted tweet).
This year's Golden Tweet (or the most Retweeted Tweet) was @narendramodi's Tweet after winning the #loksabhaelections2019.
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) December 10, 2019
This also happened to be the most Liked Tweet this year https://t.co/qQ1pC17g7U
Modi, with an eye on the upcoming 2022 and 2024 polls, has since expanded that sentiment to ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, and sabka prayas’.
On Sunday, speaking virtually on the 80th birthday celebration of Sri Ganapaty Sachchidanand Swamy, the prime minister said the country is calling for a collective pledge for development with the mantra of “sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka Vishwas and sabka prayas”.
‘Vocal for local’
Another brainchild of the prime minister is ‘vocal for local’ theme which he has highlighted on several high-profile occasions.
During his 2020 national address, Modi said saying COVID-19 had taught us the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains. “All our demands during the crisis were met locally. Now, it is time to be vocal about local products and help these local products become global,” Modi had said.
A senior government official, speaking to Economic Times, expounded on the mantra: “The idea is to cut down dependence on reliance of imports from one country while encouraging local manufacturing… Why should we be importing furniture and leather in which we have competence?”
Modi in October 2021 had urged citizens to imbibe the policy of ‘vocal for local’ when stepping out to buy goods for themselves and their loved ones during the festive season.
“I urge all citizens to make the ‘Made in India’ and ‘vocal for local’ movements as integral as the ‘Swachch Abhiyaan’. This Diwali, unlike the last one, we have a sense of belief and confidence,” the prime minister had said.
‘Make in India’
Arguably the slogan most identified with the prime minister, the ‘Make in India’ global initiative scheme was launched on 26 September, 2014.
“Today, when I have brought this ‘Make in India’, I don’t want that any industrialist or any entrepreneur should feel compelled to leave. That situation has to change. I speak from the experience of past few months that circumstances have changed. People in industry had lost self-confidence. They felt that they will not be able to face competition and had no way out. When a person loses self confidence it is very difficult to prop him up again. Secondly, his trust was broken – ‘you never know what policy will the Government bring, never know when what policy will change, when will CBI come knocking’. This is what I have heard from you people,” Modi said.
“I mean, today ‘Make in India’ is not a mere slogan or an invitation, it is our responsibility. If we move forward with determination, world will come looking for us, have faith. For this we need to stress both FDIs. ‘First Develop India’ at the same time ‘Foreign Direct Investment,” he added.
The aim of the initiative, which Modi has referred to in umpteen speeches across the country, is to transform the country into a global manufacturing hub with a special emphasis on Ease of Doing business.
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
This slogan has used by the prime minister in keeping with his vision to make India ‘self-reliant’ in all fields: agriculture, defence, economy and manufacturing.
The most high-profile example of this cam in 2020, when the Centre, in response to COVID-19 passed the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ package.
On12 May 2020, the special economic and comprehensive package of INR 20 lakh crores, roughly equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP, was made available to make India self-reliant and meet the challenges thrown by COVID-19.
The stimulus provided so far added up to 15 percent of the GDP, of which the government contribution was nine percent, Indian Express had quoted Sitharaman as saying.
While the prime minister popularised the phrase, he wasn’t the first one to use it. This slogan first came to the fore during India’s Freedom Movement.
It was also used during the Second Five Year Plan.
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