Despite hectic campaigns by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP could not even open its account in Goa. It ended with a big zero, for obvious reasons. But, surprisingly, it’s ‘neck and neck” between BJP and Congress. The less said the better about Uttarakhand where BJP again made a clean sweep, as was expected. And, in Manipur too, it was a close finish between BJP and Congress.
The Congress, on the whole deserved to lose and paid the price for its sins as the party was known only for scandals and scams. Rahul Gandhi’s childish, monotonous and immature style of campaign only earned him a place in many cartoons. He does not deserve to be in politics at all. Now is the right time for him to retire from politics and go on a permanent vacation to a secluded place.
Whatever said and done, all in all it was a “one man struggle, effort and vociferous campaign.” It was one and only Narendra Modi v/s Congress + SP+ BSP +AAP and other parties too like TMC, Left, RJD and so on. Namo, as Modi was referred to, had to single-handedly lead each and every campaign. He bore the brunt and attacks – including many personal ones—of many from the opposition: right from Rahul Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi to Priyanka Gandhi, Lalu, Prasad Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Digvijaya Singh and many others. Incidents like the one in JNU and the protests against the demonetisation drive were methodically engineered and organized to tarnish Modi and BJP’s prospects on the eve of elections. Only Modi was able to sway the masses with dramatic, powerful speeches and impressive outreach through media. Modi was highly tech and net-savvy – and adopted good marketing strategies. The Congress and other parties totally failed to match the aggressive style of the PM. Even many veterans and stalwarts of the BJP (barring Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh) were rather inactive as far as participation in campaigns was concerned. It was all in all only Modi who led everyone from the front.
Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal’s “AAP” was also shown its place. Ever since, he took the people of Delhi for a ride and ran away from his responsibilities and started playing tantrums, he and his party were not taken seriously. Kejriwal should have first run the Delhi government and proved his mettle before jumping into the bandwagon of national politics instead of making a “mockery” of himself and his party. Besides, his way of attacking the PM and spewing venom for each and everything was not taken lightly by the people.
The governments which would be formed in all these five states, are now faced with the daunting task of restoring the credibility and truly work for the welfare of the people. They should not indulge in scams, corruption and caste and community related politics. They should thwart all attempt of anti- national activities and maintain law and order and secularism in its true sense. The new CMs and their cabinet may face a rough weather if people’s expectations are not fulfilled. We Indian citizens cannot be taken for granted, at all. Howsoever mighty a leader is, he will be kicked out if the people are fooled all the times.
With good number of seats won not only in UP and Uttarakhand but also in Punjab, Goa and Manipur, BJP should increase its tally in Rajya Sabha. This will enable the party to checkmate the opposition in the upper house too and perhaps enable smoother functioning of parliamentary sessions.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
