BJP hopes to break new ground following govt’s Bharat Ratna honour for leaders with non-BJP background

State awards often convey a message beyond the public contributions made by their recipients and the Modi government’s pick of five of them, with three of four politicians in the list firmly belonging to the non-BJP sphere, for Bharat Ratna in this year of national elections is no exception.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to send out the message that the ruling BJP, unlike its predecessors at the helm, is not guided by parochial politics in recognising contributions in the public life, as the party looks to break new ground during the polls.

Former prime minister Charan Singh and ex-Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakoor were ideological fellow travellers despite political differences and championed an ideology and constituencies which were not a familiar territory for the BJP for decades before Modi after taking the helm in 2014 successfully connected with them substantially.