Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Thursday framed the 2024 general elections as an unequal battle between a towering leader, Narendra Modi, and a ragtag coalition of parties with irreconcilable differences.

During an interaction held with the minister as part of the Manorama News Conclave 2023, Irani said that even non-BJP leaders would tell "emphatically and with a deep sense of dejection that it looks like the country will re-elect its 'pradhan sevak', that is Narendra Modi."

The minister said that a bigger indication of an imminent BJP victory in 2024 was the realisation among the opposition parties that Narendra Modi was far bigger than the sum of all of them.

Why Modi will triumph in 2024
It was as if she was amused by the opposition collective, even if she did not mention INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). "Can you imagine almost all political parties that prescribe to the norm called opposition coming together not with a purpose of building the nation but only with the sole agenda of trying to defeat Narendra Modi," Irani said.

"They realised that one was not enough. They needed multiple political forces to challenge this one political leader called Narendra Modi," she said, and added: "If that doesn't give you an indication of the impending success electorally in 2024 what more would you ask for?"

When she was told that the Opposition seemed more united this time, it was with a smile she asked: "Are they?"

"Can you definitely say that they are united," she said. "For instance, can you honestly accept that Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal will see eye to eye and forge a partnership with the Left. Can you definitely accept that Mamata would see eye to eye the local Congress leadership. Do you think that a lady as chief minister who was dragged by her hair outside Nabanna, which is one of their secretariats, will forget the personal humiliation thrust upon her by the Left or by the Congress party," she said.

Irani perhaps was referring to an incident in 1993 when Jyoti Basu's police dragged Mamata by her hair and forcefully removed her from the Writer's Building, the seat of the West Bengal government. She was not Chief Minister then. Banerjee, then a Youth Congress leader, had planted herself on the floor in front of Basu's office demanding justice for a 'hearing and speech'-impaired girl who was allegedly raped by a CPM leader.

Will Irani fight Rahul in Wayanad?
The interaction at the Conclave threw up two tricky questions. One was largely ignored, and the other, Irani dwelled upon in an elaborate fashion. Both were posed by Malayalam actor Ranjini of 'Chithram' fame.

The question Irani did not want to commit herself to was whether she would take on Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad the way she challenged him in Amethi. She did engage the question, but in a vague way.

"Firstly, Rahul Gandhi is the political master of the Congress party, and I am a political 'karyakarta' of the BJP. There is a huge political difference between being a master and a worker," Irani said. It is not clear whether by this she meant that fighting in Wayanad was not a decision for her to make.

But then it seemed that by the master-karyakarta differentiation she was saying that Rahul and Congress were arrogant. Irani said it was arrogance that cost Rahul Amethi. She said in the last Assembly elections, the Congress lost its deposit in four of the five Assembly constituencies within the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

Irani also made fun of Rahul Gandhi during the interaction ("I had the greatest privilege of sending you an MP who represents your state after being rejected from my state and constituency) but she sidestepped the Wayanad question.

Will BJP ever win Kerala?
The question she responded in detail related to the BJP's chances of winning in Kerala. This answer, too, was pivoted around Amethi. She suggested that the BJP triumph in a constituency like Amethi, held by the Congress family for decades, was an indicator that Kerala, too, would come BJP's way.

"Victory and defeat are not an overnight process," Irani said. "We belong to a political organisation that had only two representatives in the Parliament. For us to grow from two to 303 has been a tedious task in a long journey but do recognise that while the Congress party came into existence politically over seven decades ago, we were born in 1980," she said.

Tackling child abuse
The minister for Women and Child Development said that close to 80 percent of the abuse emanated from people the child knows, within the family or its friends circle.

"So when you look at it from the perspective of the judiciary and the infrastructure related to investigation and child support, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in association with NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences), has set up counselling ecosystems across the country for children who are either in conflict with the law or children who need protection of law," the minister said.

The issue of child abuse was raised at the Conclave by a victim of child abuse, an IIM-Kozhikode professor who said she was still struggling with the after-effects of the trauma. Referring to the IIM professor's statement, Irani said: "It (child abuse) has its impact on adult life as well, which needs to be spoken of and encountered."

"Infrastructurally, the Prime Minister has ensured setting up of 1036 fast-track courts in the country, of which 400 are dedicated to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases," the minister said.

India growth story under Modi
She followed up the interactive session with her inaugural speech, saying that "The IMF has revised the Indian growth story from 6.1 to 6.3% in the forthcoming year." "That the RBI insists it will be 6.5% speaks volumes on the Indian prospect," she said.

By 2027, she said India will become the third largest economy in the world. She saw this growth reflected in India’s record performance in the Asian Games this year. "In 2018 in Jakarata Asian Games we won 70 medals. This year, we won 107 in Hangzhou and this speaks volumes about our sporting prowess. Most sports enthusiasts attribute this to the PM’s Target the Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). The PM has also told the IOC that India is ready to host Olympics,” she said.

The minister mentioned the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), organization of G20, resettlement of people of Tripura, solving of border disputes, India becoming the pharmacy of the world, the election of a woman from a tribal background as the President (Droupadi Murmu), and more as the achievements of the BJP Government.

Appreciating the presence of many brilliant minds and political ideologies at Manorama Conclave 2023, the minister said, "This platform signals what India’s future will be like – it will be bright, bold and it will be Bharat."