January 12, 2024. “Modi’s guarantee begins where expectations from others ends”. The launch of “Modi ki Guarantee” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key campaign slogan for the general elections 2024.
March 30, 2024. This column appears, with the headline, “No warranty for ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’”.
April 14, 2024. The BJP launches its manifesto. The cover page says “Modi ki Guarantee 2024”.
April 27, 2024. The day after the second phase of elections conclude, the
“Modi ki Guarantee” slogan is put away into the closet.
In the world of marketing, a brand proposition, as the term connotes, is a promissory note, that is, a promise of substance being made to the customer that will be fulfilled by the brand. It reiterates to consumers the key reasons to assess, reassess, buy or repurchase the brand.
Brand propositions should be conceived of with great thought and care, because you should not promise more than you can deliver. As the marketing adage goes, you can get someone to buy something once, or even twice, but eventually the consumer will see through you. Brand propositions should ideally last for years — even decades.
And finally, the success of the brand lies not in the proposition itself, but in its successful delivery, in all channels of customer engagement. This means that everyone, from the worker on the factory floor, to the quality control system, to the salesman, the outlet and the after-sales-service has to be focussed and committed to that goal. This is what delivers customer satisfaction and the ultimate prize, brand loyalty.
It is, therefore, not surprising but amusing — and a sobering lesson — that the BJP’s brand proposition “Modi Ki Guarantee” for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, barely lasted a couple of months.
Here are 10 statements quoted verbatim from the BJP manifesto. The paragraphs accompanying each statement provide clues as to why the key proposition, propagated in January 2024, has virtually disappeared in the campaign by early May.
We will ensure the dignity of women: Hathras. Unnao. Kathua. Bilkis Bano. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Prajwal Revanna. Sandeskhali.
We have gone from a nation that was in the “Fragile Five” to a nation that is one of the top 5 economies of the world: Ten years ago, India was the tenth biggest economy in the world with household financial savings at 7.2 per cent of the GDP. Today, as the fifth largest economy, income inequality is even worse than it was during the British Raj. Net financial household savings are at a 50-year low, at 5.1 per cent of the GDP in 2022-23.
Fifty-plus crore citizens have joined the banking system through PM Jan Dhan Account: As of December 2023, one out of five Jan Dhan accounts created has been inoperative/dormant for over two years. This translates to 10.34 crore accounts not being used at all. An amount of Rs 12,779 crore is lying unused in these dormant accounts.
Four-plus crore families now have pucca houses under the PM Awas Yojana and other initiatives: As of January 2024, one out of three houses that were sanctioned under PMAY-U are yet to be completed.
Improved health care of women by making sanitary pads available at Rs 1: In 2019-21, one out of five women did not use hygienic methods of protection during menstruation. One out of four girls either misses school during periods or discontinues her education entirely due to inadequate facilities and other obstacles.
1.4-plus crore young citizens availed skill training under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana: As per the 2022-23 Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development, the placement rate for the PMKVY 2 stood at 23 per cent. For PMKVY 3, it was even lower, at just 8 per cent. As of June 30, 2022, over half of the budget allocated was unutilised.
Unprecedented hike in MSP: Farmers protested to demand MSP as a guarantee. They were not allowed to enter Delhi, teargassed and sprayed with water cannons. In 2024, 19 farmers died and 40 got injured during the “Dilli Chalo” protest.
Unprecedented improvements in connectivity of the Northeast by expansion of roads, bridges, railways and airports: Out of 181 projects sanctioned under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme, only 25 have been completed as of December 2023. In the last six years, the scheme utilised only 40 per cent of the allocated funds.
Constructed 3.7 lakh km of rural roads in villages under PM Gram Sadak Yojana: The scheme has four verticals of which none had completed all the sanctioned projects as of January 2023. Two of these verticals had a deadline of 2022. Road Connectivity Project on Left Wing Extremism Areas, which had a deadline of March 2023, has only completed half of the sanctioned kms.
Achieved 100 per cent electrification by providing electricity connection to 2.8-plus crore families under Saubhagya: According to the government’s definition, a village is considered electrified if just 10 per cent of households in a village have electricity. In 2021, as per some states, nearly 12 lakh households were yet to be electrified. Moreover, according to a response by the Minister of Power in Rajya Sabha in December 2023, nearly five lakh households were left to be electrified in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
“Modi ki Guarantee” is a brand proposition that the consumer did not believe. No wonder it was quickly put to bed. A new brand proposition is now being brazenly propagated. But that’s the subject of a column after the results.
The writer is MP, TMC. Additional research by Dheemunt Jain, Ayashman Dey
