With noteworthy 2019 Lok Sabha election just a year away, BJP’s ‘acche din’ seems to be beset by ailments. The party that claimed a historic victory with 336 seats out of 543 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, is grappling with several political conundrums. Be it the arrest of Milind Ekbote or a huge setback for the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-polls or when the Gujarat Assembly turned into a fight club on Wednesday morning with MLAs hurling abuses or microphone to each other — BJP’s peace of mind is found to be in uncertainty.
The Pune Rural Police on Wednesday morning arrested Milind Ekbote, the Samasta Hindu Aghadi leader from his home after the Supreme Court dismissed his interim bail relief. Ekbote was the prime accused of masterminding the Bhima-Koregaon violence of January 1 this year that left one person dead. Meanwhile, state’s opposition parties and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar have slammed Maharashtra police for their failure to arrest another accused Sambhaji Bhide who instigated the violence. Prakash Ambedkar had also targeted Modi saying, “We hear from the corridors of power that the PMO has ordered the state government not to arrest Bhide.”
Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra expressed that the UP by-poll result is an outcome of people’s anger. He further said, “BJP always lies to the people. It’s Bharatiya Jhoot Party. People don’t get jobs on jumlas. Everyone is upset with BJP governance as it has failed to keep promises. Now, the question arises, why the government didn’t arrest Milind Ekbote earlier. BJP gave him chances so that he can get bail from the Supreme Court. Sambhaji Bhide also must be arrested.”
With the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) backing, Samajwadi Party won the UP by-poll results giving a major embarrassment for BJP and Yogi Adityanath as his pocket borough Gorakhpur as well as Phulpur have disheartened the party’s winning streak.
At the same time, Modi is proved to be the only crowd-puller of BJP as the party has failed to groom regional leaders across India. The last year’s election rallies in Modi’s home state Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh can be seen as a warning bell as the sole strong voice people heard was of Modi’s and PM’s intensive campaigns were the only force of state battlegrounds.
BJP MLA Sardar Tara Singh stated, “I can understand that people are unhappy due to many reasons but they also see future in BJP. Narendra Modi-led BJP will continue with development agenda and solve the concerns of the citizens.”
The party’s hit-and-miss situation became eye-catching when during Wednesday’s Question Hour in Gujarat Assembly, over tabling of the report of Justice DK Trivedi Commission in Asaram Bapu case, BJP MLA Jagdish Panchal made provoking comments and it created unrest when both BJP and Congress MLAs attacked one another with blows, kicks and abuses.
After coming to power, BJP started embracing its enemies or whom they attacked all these years for corruption or any such wrongdoings — be it giving Maharashtra Swabhimaan Paksh leader and former Congressman Narayan Rane a Rajya Sabha berth or giving former Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal a party membership.
While Agarwal met with strong criticism from BJP leaders after calling Modi a ‘teli’, Kulbhushan Jadhav a terrorist and comparing Hindu Gods with alcohol, Rane was branded the most corrupt leader of Maharashtra by the BJP. It seems all the sins and allegations get sanitised soon after their affiliation to BJP.
Former AAP leader Mayank Gandhi framed, “BJP government has completed their honeymoon period. They have failed to meet voters’ expectations. For winning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls they need to improve their governance.”
“UP by-poll elections’ results should be an eye opener for the current government. If opposition unites, it would be difficult for BJP and in case of a 3rd front, it would be tough for both Congress and BJP in 2019,” he added.
In the meantime, Supreme Court’s order to extend the deadline for mandatory linkage of Aadhaar number with bank accounts and mobile numbers till a final decision comes on its validity, has also proved to be a setback for the Modi govt.
AAP leader Ravi Srivastava estimated an absolute failure of BJP in 2019 due to demonetisation, GST, law and order unrest, communal issues and multiple scams. “BJP is a communal party that is dividing people. It seems that Narendra Modi is anxious with recent by-poll results. It shows that defeating Modi government is possible if opposition gets united. AAP only wants good governance and we would like to be a strong opposition against BJP; we will stand with regional parties for good governance,” he added.
While Telugu Desam Party’s decision to withdraw support to central government that came as a knock-back for the party after Arun Jaitley excluded the option to grant Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh; moreover, the 180-km protest march with thousands of distressed farmers, who demanded complete and unconditional loan waiver scheme with other concerns, is also giving a tough time to the Fadnavis government in the state — and all these sum up the unfit shape of BJP before big shot election year – 2019.
