Looking at the recent by-polls results, it’s very much visible that BJP is losing its ground. BJP has been defeated in the election because of its overconfidence. They have become arrogant; spreading hate in the name of religion and caste and always trying to divide the society have backfired. They need to understand that the people of India will not always follow them blindly. The impact of Nitish Kumar aligning with BJP can be seen in the by-poll result of Bihar. The voters confirmed the destiny of BJP for its misdeeds in the last four years. The result is definitely an indication for assessing the forthcoming elections. Since BJP is not different from Indian National Congress (INC) in all spheres, the voters are choosing out the better. Soon the party will understand that 2019 is not going to be a cakewalk as it was in 2014.
Any dictionary definition of Democracy is ‘we’ and not ‘I’. The ideology of I (Modi, Hindutva, Ram Mandir etc.) will not work; they need to learn from Congress’s past as it was all I (Gandhi). There was a time when people used to think that BJP is a very Hinduism promoting party and it will soon get merged or dissolved. It was the time when the party had managed to win only two Lok Sabha two seats in the entire country. Their main leaders were lost, the party was losing its hope, the opposition was making fun of them and that’s usual in Indian politics. Later, it even came into power but was losing hope after 2004 election.
They regained power in 2014; but, within one year of their rule, people realised that Modi only speaks and blames Congress for everything. Not only Congress of the present era, he also digs the history and grave of Nehru. A small-time leader like Modi, whose contribution is limited to his party and ideology, attacking freedom fighters didn’t go well with people. He has twisted the pre-independence history to his advantage, but people of this democratic country know where to draw a line. He made his mark by his speeches and later on remained a valueless chatterbox. Now people don’t take his words seriously.
Modi raj is absolutely about remaining unaccountable to citizens. It’s always about election rallies, lies and rampant corruption. Not a single minister takes responsibility; all sing in one tone and that is to blame the past Congress reign. The possible reason for this could be that Narendra Modi has turned into a megalomaniac person who is busy chanting his achievements without looking into the reality of the matter. For instance, we all have seen him patting his own back on the issue of demonetisation and even justifying it. But the fact is, that was all a fiasco. Instead, he should show some sense of maturity to accept that demonetisation was a failure when it came to implementation. He didn’t ever feel sorry for the people losing their lives while standing in the queue outside the banks for no reason, or those who suffered miserably.
Narendra Modi’s approval rating has been increased after the setback of demonetisation. It has always been helpful to the BJP as it currently considers him as the face of their party. Apart from this, BJP could somehow be able to maintain a stronghold on its operations at grassroot level which ensured its popularity. After its major wins in UP, Gujarat, and eastern states, it seems like BJP and Modi’s popularity is again on the rise at a steady rate. They are aiming to get a full majority in 2019 Lok Sabha elections as no other party possesses a strong leader who can challenge Modi. After 2014, BJP has been able to reach a much more influential position in the Indian politics. But as it approached 2018, the scenario has changed. People are exposed to reality and voters expressed their anger in the by-polls.
One of the other major reasons for BJP losing by-polls could be that they always landed up blaming Congress and Gandhi family for whatever bad happens in the country. If you closely observe, BJP spokesperson was blaming Congress for the stampede at Mumbai railway station despite of them being in power at the centre and Maharashtra for more than three years then. BJP reached the epitome of Indian democracy but now they must learn that they have enjoyed the power for quite a long time and they will be held accountable for any wrongdoing during their tenure.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took frequent swipes at the BJP for its approach towards its NDA allies. But he wasn’t among the only one in the NDA to deliver a sharp message to the BJP. Just hours into the BJP’s electoral losses in by-elections, there were some conflicting noises from Bihar as well. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), which revived its alliance with the BJP after dumping the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress less than a year back, was among those to speak out. Kumar’s JD(U) told BJP that it needed to up its handling of the “considerable resentment” against the government across the country over a number of issues and the latest of these being the spiralling petrol and diesel prices. It also wanted the BJP to stop taking its alliance partners for granted.
For a party that has rarely given advice to its senior partner in the alliance, this was one of the strongest remarks that have come from Nitish’s party despite its “unhappiness” at the central government refusing to keep its promises to Bihar — one of them was the assurance that the BJP would accord Bihar a special category status, which would let it access huge central funds and give tax breaks to the industries. Another BJP ally from Bihar, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) was a lot more outspoken. It asked the BJP to give up its big brother attitude towards its alliance partners and work on coordination within the NDA. In UP, it was obvious that unless Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party hang together, most assuredly they shall be hanged separately by BJP. Having tasted significant success, will the combo continue in future is anybody’s guess, as they are not natural allies.
We see a good show by Congress in Modi’s home turf Gujarat, BJP’s recent loss in Rajasthan and Yogi’s backyard Gorakhpur are clear indicators that 2019 show is very unlikely to be as spectacular as 2014 performance for BJP. With regional allies of BJP flexing their muscles, we are likely to witness interesting times in the runup to 2019. One can safely assume that the 2019 Finale will be as riveting as any of Bollywood blockbuster’s jaw-dropping climax.
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