A sense of concern seems to be setting in among a section of the ruling BJP as the migrant crisis worsens and the central leadership continues to be in denial, clutching at surveys that claim Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval ratings have soared.
The BJP had recently publicised these surveys by different agencies, asserting that people had given a big thumbs up to Modi’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
According to one such survey, Modi’s approval rating on April 21 — exactly four weeks into the lockdown — had increased to 83 per cent from 76 per cent on January 7.
But the picture may change soon, or has already changed, many BJP leaders said.
“Each day I get hundreds of distress calls from people in my constituency pleading for help. I try to extend whatever help I can but things are getting unmanageable,” a BJP MP from Bihar said.
“Images of the suffering the migrants are undergoing are all over TV, newspapers, WhatsApp and YouTube. This will harm the party,' an MP from Uttar Pradesh added.
In April, when experts felt it was too early, the BJP had celebrated the success of the government in combating the coronavirus like no other country had been able to.
Even Modi had claimed India had set a 'different kind of example' before the world in battling the pandemic.
But the spike in infections has shown no sign of ebbing and hundreds of migrant workers are still on the road. The government and the party has now changed the goal post and started tom-tomming the special economic package as a game changer, holding out the hope of a bright future.
Off the record, BJP leaders say the dream may not last long. A Rajya Sabha MP of the party had recently aired the concern indirectly in a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, urging that the Rs 1,000 crore released for the migrants from the PM-CARES fund should be used to arrange free transport for them.
The government has so far not given any indication of acceding to the MP’s plea.
Internally, senior party leaders said the government was aware of the situation and plans to run a large number of Shramik Special trains to ferry the migrants to their home state.
The problem is the journey is not free and in many cases the migrants, a vast majority of them day labourers, have to pay from their own pockets if their states or other agencies don't sponsor the journey.
The BJP has been blaming the states for not paying their share of the train fare, claiming the Centre was already paying 85 per cent of the amount. But this may not be an acceptable argument to the people, some BJP leaders feel.
“People call us and say they don't have money. They also ask for food and shelter,” another MP from Bihar said.
The MP said he has spent a lot of money in helping people. “But the pleas are unending,” he said, adding that many had started saying they wouldn’t vote for the BJP in the future.
Many BJP representatives said the wrenching visuals of migrants walking home and the government's failure to help them might also affect Modi’s strongman image.
Some leaders said things had changed from the initial days of the lockdown, when India was not as badly affected as many of the western countries were. “People felt Modiji had acted swiftly and saved the country. Now they are getting restless, realising that the worst was yet to come,” a senior central leader said.
BJP president J.P. Nadda has been holding daily videoconferences with party representatives and asking them to arrange for food and other help for the migrants. On the ground, however, the impact of Nadda’s directives is hardly visible.
One party leader said the BJP claims it has over 18 crore active members. “If only half of our active members had been active, they should have arranged food and shelter for the migrants,” the leader said.