It was an election of great import; not only because five Indian states simultaneously cast their legislative assembly vote, but also because some of India’s largest states – Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were choosing their state governments. Many are calling this the semifinal for the 2019 general elections and a referendum for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his brand of politics. Others however are less concerned with the import of the results in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telengana and Mizoram and more concerned with creating jokes and memes.
The BJP had looked invincible until about a year ago, when a powerful PM at the centre powered them to victory after victory. Now however the Modi lustre seems to be fading and the BJP has failed to win three states considered to be their strongholds.
The contest was close and the MP results came in only late at night; even then there was no clear winner. However overall, the BJP’s divisive politics, policy blunders and problems such as unemployment and farmer distress seem to have caught up with them.
The vitriolic jokes churned out with such regularity against Congress president Rahul Gandhi will likely see a pause for a time, feel people. He has worked hard to reinvent himself and seems to have emerged as a force to reckon with.
Rahul Gandhi’s emergence as a leader of national import and a newfound ability to actually win elections is being lauded. More importantly, people are recognising the work done on the ground by the second rung Congress leaders and dedicated party workers.
The fact that the BJP received a drubbing in three states and lost even in states thought to be their strongholds has given the party cause for worry.
While the mood is euphoric in some places, it is introspective in others. Then there is a third variety of Indian who cannot care less!
Until recently, the whole of India looked predominantly saffron, with the BJP ruling so many states. This tweet also takes a dig at the party’s preoccupation with the cow, its worship and everything related to it.
The electorate appears to have been unimpressed by the recent name changing spree in UP or by Yogi Adityanath’s brand of divisive politics.
The results of Madhya Pradesh, the most closely fought state finally came in late at night in spite of deployment of EVMs for recording votes of citizens. It can only be concluded that the Election Commission was taking no chances of being accused of EVM tampering and was being extra careful with the counting.
In a series of tweets, the PM thanked party workers for their hard work and spoke about victory and defeat being a part of life. He congratulated the winners and accepted the “people’s mandate with humility”.
BJP supporters are still convinced that there has been no lessening of Modi's personal charisma and are fully confident of the party coming back to form the government at the centre in 2019.
The Congress should not be congratulating itself right now. Instead the party should be asking why it didn’t do much better in spite of anti-incumbency and widespread anger of the people against their state governments. The fact is that the INC still has no vision for the future; they don’t have effective solutions for existing problems. It is important for them to remember that people did not vote to make Congress win; they voted to defeat the BJP – this is a vital difference and Congress would do well not to fall back into its pattern of entitled and arrogant behaviour.
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