With Narendra Modi government being in power for over six months now, it appears that the online supporters of the party are getting restless and disappointed.
Many regular and committed supporters feel that the party leaders are hardly showing any respect or deference to their wishes and views.
The tipping point in this relationship happened last week when Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar attended a literature event on a day army camp was attacked in Jammu & Kashmir, leaving many soldiers dead.
What angered the supporters even more, that instead of paying respect to the martyred soldiers, Parrikar chose to launch a book by celeb TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.
It should be noted that Sardesai is well known for his dislike of Narendra Modi, which is why he is the pet peeve of most of the Narendra Modi supporters online.
Supporters call Sardesai a “news trader” – a term coined by Narendra Modi to refer to journalists who push political agendas instead of doing any real analysis. Sardesai became the icon of hatred for the supporters when he assaulted and abused a Narendra Modi supporter at Madison Square event in the USA a few weeks back.
However, it’s not only the “return of news traders” that is hurting the online supporters. Many of them believe that BJP is neither pushing the development nor the pro-Hindu agenda for which they voted the party to power.
Analysts believe that this could be a temporary anger that might go away because most BJP supporters have no option. BJP is the only pro-Hindu party and they will have to come back to support it sooner or later.
But some others warn that this could mean the dampening of spirit among supporters and it could demoralize them, which will hurt them in urban areas.
“BJP can’t afford that their online supporters lose steam, especially before Delhi assembly elections. Delhi is an urban area and digital discourse impacts public perception. If the party doesn’t take it seriously and tries to placate the restless supporters, it could hurt BJP and help AAP,” Ankit, a Delhi based trader and supporter of BJP told OpIndia.com
