Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced the Bharat Ratna for former Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and Charan Singh and agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, all the three picks carrying the whiff of electoral strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Modi government has so far declared five Bharat Ratnas since January — the highest ever in a calendar year — the perception of political motivation buttressed by their staggered announcement in three instalments.

The recipients come from three regions of the country that the BJP wants to court — western Uttar Pradesh, the Telugu homeland of Telangana-Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu — to achieve Modi’s avowed goal of winning “400-plus” seats for the NDA in the general election.

The previous high of four Bharat Ratnas came in 1999 — also an election year — under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government.

On Friday, Modi first announced the country’s highest civilian honour for Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902-87), a western Uttar Pradesh leader who was Prime Minister for less than six months in 1979-80 and is remembered as a champion of farmers’ rights.

The BJP leadership has for the past couple of days been making a determined effort to lure an INDIA bloc partner, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by Charan’s grandson Jayant Chaudhary.

“It is the good fortune of our government that the former Prime Minister of the country, Chaudhary Charan Singh, is being honoured with the Bharat Ratna,” Modi said in a Hindi post on X, announcing the award.

“He dedicated his life to the rights and welfare of farmers…. His dedication to our farmer brothers and sisters and his commitment to democracy during the Emergency are an inspiration to the entire nation.”

Soon enough, Jayant responded over X saying “You have won (my) heart” and praised Modi before reporters, his party sources revealing unofficially that he already had one foot in the NDA.

A Bharat Ratna for Charan was one of the conditions the RLD had set for joining the NDA.

The second name Modi announced was that of former Congress Prime Minister Rao (1921-2004), whose tenure at the helm of a coalition government in 1991-96 ushered in far-reaching economic reforms while witnessing the demolition of the Babri Masjid that transformed Indian politics.

The choice of Rao, described as “Telugu son” by BJP leaders, fits neatly into the BJP’s aggressive push to make inroads in the largely elusive southern states. The BJP leadership is negotiating with both the Opposition Telugu Desam and the ruling YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.

“Delighted to share that our former Prime Minister, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao Garu, will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna. As a distinguished scholar and statesman, Narasimha Rao Garu served India extensively in various capacities,” Modi wrote on X.

“His visionary leadership was instrumental in making India economically advanced, laying a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity and growth.”

Modi added that Rao “not only steered India through critical transformations but also enriched its cultural and intellectual heritage”.

He did not mention that Rao was Prime Minister when Sangh Parivar-led kar sevaks pulled the Babri Masjid down, an act that catapulted the BJP into a contender for power at the Centre while condemning Rao to opprobrium from much of the secular lobby.

The honour for Rao comes days after a similar announcement for BJP veteran L.K. Advani, who led the Ram temple movement that culminated in the 1992 demolition of the mosque.

The twin Bharat Ratnas for Advani and Rao appear to be the icing on the cake after the January 22 Ram temple inauguration, virtually marking a ceremonial and triumphant closure of an issue to which the BJP owes its mojo.

The day’s third and last Bharat Ratna for plant geneticist Swaminathan (1925-2023) — the architect of India’s Green Revolution — not only recognises a pioneering scientist but clearly makes overtures to voters in his home state of Tamil Nadu.

Modi has, by installing a sengol in Parliament and holding the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, long been trying to establish a connect with Tamil Nadu’s people amid speculation that he might contest a Lok Sabha seat from the southern state.

“It is a matter of immense joy that the Government of India is conferring the Bharat Ratna on Dr MS Swaminathan Ji, in recognition of his monumental contributions to our nation in agriculture and farmers’ welfare,” Modi said in a post on X.

Even the first Bharat Ratna announced this year — for the socialist icon from Bihar, Karpoori Thakur (1924-88), on January 23 — was steeped in political symbolism, marking an audacious attempt to woo backward caste voters.

It seemed to bring almost immediate results. Within less than a week, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who claims to carry forward Thakur’s legacy, dumped the INDIA bloc and realigned with the BJP.

Now with the RLD set to embrace the BJP, the Prime Minister will hope to strengthen the perception of having mangled the Opposition alliance out of shape and to bolster the chants of “Who but Modi” in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.