BJP’s Return To Power Doubtful: Swiss Firm

New Delhi: A leading Swiss brokerage firm has said the ruling BJP might find it difficult to return back to power in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

UBS, the Swiss firm, has said that unlike the past election, this election has no Modi-wave or any wave at all and that its field visits did not give enough fodder for it believe that the BJP will return to power after the summer hustings.

It said the expectations on BJP’s seat tally receded as the trip progressed for the investors accompanying on the trip. From an initial 220, it came down to 200 and even 180 for some.

However, it said that the PM-Kisan scheme of assured annual income support of Rs 6000 per family might swing the elections in favour of the ruling party if properly implemented.

UBS in India provides corporates, institutions and individual clients with expert advice, innovative solutions, execution and comprehensive access to international capital markets.

Basic income for small and marginal farmers–which the main opposition dubbed as an affront on the farmers’ dignity as it’s worth Rs 16a day, is a key decision and the voters will distinguish it from the usual pre-poll doles if implemented well, UBS said in the report prepared after a field trip and meetings.

The report said the government is “quite serious” about quickly rolling out the scheme and added the first tranche of the payouts could happen as early as the first week of March in UP, which got the party as many as 73 MPs from a total of 80 parliamentarians in the outgoing Lok Sabha.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a rally in Bhawanipatna on Wednesday informed that the first tranche of Rs 2000 will be deposited on the farmers account on February 24.

Unlike the 2014 elections, the forthcoming polls will be a “wave-less” election, where local issues become more prominent, the brokerage said quoting experts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity is very strong even as expectations about the BJP’s final tally are going down among the people it met, the brokerage said.

“Modi’s approval rating as a Prime Ministerial candidate remains high, possibly because of the low ratings of the other contenders,” it said.