*BJP a formidable election machine

This is the first election in nearly five decades that an incumbent has been voted back in a larger margin, despite the seeming discontent among farmers, the unemployed and the traders hit by the GST and demonetisation (among other things).

This establishes the BJP as the most formidable election machinery, whose determination, the will to win and strategising remains unmatched. The opposition, on the other hand, was everything it shouldn’t be. It was deeply fragmented in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Karnataka, where it couldn’t cohesively build an alliance that could take on the BJP and Modi’s arguement that it was more an adultrated coalition with no agenda and a unifying figure.

We expected the Congress to do the soul searching after 2014 and every defeat since, but now we can confirm that even the three state election victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were nothing more than the kind of change we expect in those states once in five years.

For the real soul searching would’ve made them more flexible in building alliance and also focus more on creating an alternative narrative rather than just Modi-bashing. Congress succeeded in winning the south, a positive, which is also the place from where they can develop into a national party they once were.

*Hindu consolidation

This’s both a good and a bad news. If Modi could make Hindus rise above the caste differences and identify with him from the stand-point of religion, he has almost revolutionised the way people in populist states like Uttar Pradesh have been voting (largely on caste lines).

Though we’ve to wait for a clear picture to emerge in terms of vote shares, we could savely say that a large part of the upper caste, dalits and OBCs have sided with the BJP in the U.P. All of them responded to Modi’s message and charisma.

This’s also bad since we probably have a situation where the religious minorities may find themselves politically marginalised. During his first term, Modi promised to work for the development of all 125 crore (1.25 billion) people, the implication being that he wouldn’t exclude the Muslims. But the way his party chooses the candidates for the elections suggests clearly that they’re unlikely to give much representation to the Muslims. But if they get the Muslim support, which could be likely after such a large mandate, would they change that stance and go beyond mere tokenism to make Muslims and Christians due representation remains to be seen.

*Nationalism over everything else

The Pulwama attacks and the Balakote raids dominated the poll narratives and so was Pakistan. No matter what the opposition said, Modi and his colleagues in the party and the government exploited Pulwama to the hilt. They built the ‘strong man’ message, an extension of the 56-inch chest to suggest a robust leadership that is decisive in teaching our neighbours a lesson if they attack our territory.

No matter what the pre-poll analysis suggested, the ‘strong nation’ narrative around Modi seemed to have worked, especially as it went well with the Hindutva message to create the image of a strong leadership in the minds of voters. In states like West Bengal, Modi became the alternative for those who relied on the Left parties in the past, while in Odisha, the almost total disappearance of Congress created a space for the BJP to grow into an alternative for the Biju Janata Dal.

Also, Rahul Gandhi chose ‘Chokidar Chore’ message above the economic difficulties, farm distress and, in places like Bengal, even attacked Mamata Banerjee who could’ve become his ally against Modi.

*The total defeat of the third front idea

This election has clearly established that the third front idea isn’t a credible electoral possibility. The central figures who worked on the idea like K. Chandrasekhar Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu were losing their own home turfs (shocking in KCR’s case).

If the Left had largely held to its 2004 vote shares, the third front alternative could’ve been possible, but the reality is, the Left is almost totally made politically irrelevant in the country. Also, their unwillingness to adopt to the changing political environment isn’t helping the situation.

In the end, the BJP has trashed many seemingly established theories. Its victory is attributable to strong ground work, meticulous strategising, getting the alliances right and hardening its religious and nationalistic rhetoric.

Will it be accommodative of its allies and do the right thing in accelerating growth and getting more jobs as it had been promising? This goes beyond poll promises into a necessity. With victory comes responsibility of strengthening the nation, assuring the minorities of inclusion and living true to their growth for all promise.

*BJP a formidable election machine

This is the first election in nearly five decades that an incumbent has been voted back in a larger margin, despite the seeming discontent among farmers, the unemployed and the traders hit by the GST and demonetisation (among other things).

This establishes the BJP as the most formidable election machinery, whose determination, the will to win and strategising remains unmatched. The opposition, on the other hand, was everything it shouldn’t be. It was deeply fragmented in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Karnataka, where it couldn’t cohesively build an alliance that could take on the BJP and Modi’s arguement that it was more an adultrated coalition with no agenda and a unifying figure.

We expected the Congress to do the soul searching after 2014 and every defeat since, but now we can confirm that even the three state election victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were nothing more than the kind of change we expect in those states once in five years.

For the real soul searching would’ve made them more flexible in building alliance and also focus more on creating an alternative narrative rather than just Modi-bashing. Congress succeeded in winning the south, a positive, which is also the place from where they can develop into a national party they once were.

*Hindu consolidation

This’s both a good and a bad news. If Modi could make Hindus rise above the caste differences and identify with him from the stand-point of religion, he has almost revolutionised the way people in populist states like Uttar Pradesh have been voting (largely on caste lines).

Though we’ve to wait for a clear picture to emerge in terms of vote shares, we could savely say that a large part of the upper caste, dalits and OBCs have sided with the BJP in the U.P. All of them responded to Modi’s message and charisma.

This’s also bad since we probably have a situation where the religious minorities may find themselves politically marginalised. During his first term, Modi promised to work for the development of all 125 crore (1.25 billion) people, the implication being that he wouldn’t exclude the Muslims. But the way his party chooses the candidates for the elections suggests clearly that they’re unlikely to give much representation to the Muslims. But if they get the Muslim support, which could be likely after such a large mandate, would they change that stance and go beyond mere tokenism to make Muslims and Christians due representation remains to be seen.

*Nationalism over everything else

The Pulwama attacks and the Balakote raids dominated the poll narratives and so was Pakistan. No matter what the opposition said, Modi and his colleagues in the party and the government exploited Pulwama to the hilt. They built the ‘strong man’ message, an extension of the 56-inch chest to suggest a robust leadership that is decisive in teaching our neighbours a lesson if they attack our territory.

No matter what the pre-poll analysis suggested, the ‘strong nation’ narrative around Modi seemed to have worked, especially as it went well with the Hindutva message to create the image of a strong leadership in the minds of voters. In states like West Bengal, Modi became the alternative for those who relied on the Left parties in the past, while in Odisha, the almost total disappearance of Congress created a space for the BJP to grow into an alternative for the Biju Janata Dal.

Also, Rahul Gandhi chose ‘Chokidar Chore’ message above the economic difficulties, farm distress and, in places like Bengal, even attacked Mamata Banerjee who could’ve become his ally against Modi.

*The total defeat of the third front idea

This election has clearly established that the third front idea isn’t a credible electoral possibility. The central figures who worked on the idea like K. Chandrasekhar Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu were losing their own home turfs (shocking in KCR’s case).

If the Left had largely held to its 2004 vote shares, the third front alternative could’ve been possible, but the reality is, the Left is almost totally made politically irrelevant in the country. Also, their unwillingness to adopt to the changing political environment isn’t helping the situation.

In the end, the BJP has trashed many seemingly established theories. Its victory is attributable to strong ground work, meticulous strategising, getting the alliances right and hardening its religious and nationalistic rhetoric.

Will it be accommodative of its allies and do the right thing in accelerating growth and getting more jobs as it had been promising? This goes beyond poll promises into a necessity. With victory comes responsibility of strengthening the nation, assuring the minorities of inclusion and living true to their growth for all promise.

*BJP a formidable election machine

This is the first election in nearly five decades that an incumbent has been voted back in a larger margin, despite the seeming discontent among farmers, the unemployed and the traders hit by the GST and demonetisation (among other things).

This establishes the BJP as the most formidable election machinery, whose determination, the will to win and strategising remains unmatched. The opposition, on the other hand, was everything it shouldn’t be. It was deeply fragmented in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Karnataka, where it couldn’t cohesively build an alliance that could take on the BJP and Modi’s arguement that it was more an adultrated coalition with no agenda and a unifying figure.

We expected the Congress to do the soul searching after 2014 and every defeat since, but now we can confirm that even the three state election victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were nothing more than the kind of change we expect in those states once in five years.

For the real soul searching would’ve made them more flexible in building alliance and also focus more on creating an alternative narrative rather than just Modi-bashing. Congress succeeded in winning the south, a positive, which is also the place from where they can develop into a national party they once were.

*Hindu consolidation

This’s both a good and a bad news. If Modi could make Hindus rise above the caste differences and identify with him from the stand-point of religion, he has almost revolutionised the way people in populist states like Uttar Pradesh have been voting (largely on caste lines).

Though we’ve to wait for a clear picture to emerge in terms of vote shares, we could savely say that a large part of the upper caste, dalits and OBCs have sided with the BJP in the U.P. All of them responded to Modi’s message and charisma.

This’s also bad since we probably have a situation where the religious minorities may find themselves politically marginalised. During his first term, Modi promised to work for the development of all 125 crore (1.25 billion) people, the implication being that he wouldn’t exclude the Muslims. But the way his party chooses the candidates for the elections suggests clearly that they’re unlikely to give much representation to the Muslims. But if they get the Muslim support, which could be likely after such a large mandate, would they change that stance and go beyond mere tokenism to make Muslims and Christians due representation remains to be seen.

*Nationalism over everything else

The Pulwama attacks and the Balakote raids dominated the poll narratives and so was Pakistan. No matter what the opposition said, Modi and his colleagues in the party and the government exploited Pulwama to the hilt. They built the ‘strong man’ message, an extension of the 56-inch chest to suggest a robust leadership that is decisive in teaching our neighbours a lesson if they attack our territory.

No matter what the pre-poll analysis suggested, the ‘strong nation’ narrative around Modi seemed to have worked, especially as it went well with the Hindutva message to create the image of a strong leadership in the minds of voters. In states like West Bengal, Modi became the alternative for those who relied on the Left parties in the past, while in Odisha, the almost total disappearance of Congress created a space for the BJP to grow into an alternative for the Biju Janata Dal.

Also, Rahul Gandhi chose ‘Chokidar Chore’ message above the economic difficulties, farm distress and, in places like Bengal, even attacked Mamata Banerjee who could’ve become his ally against Modi.

*The total defeat of the third front idea

This election has clearly established that the third front idea isn’t a credible electoral possibility. The central figures who worked on the idea like K. Chandrasekhar Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu were losing their own home turfs (shocking in KCR’s case).

If the Left had largely held to its 2004 vote shares, the third front alternative could’ve been possible, but the reality is, the Left is almost totally made politically irrelevant in the country. Also, their unwillingness to adopt to the changing political environment isn’t helping the situation.

In the end, the BJP has trashed many seemingly established theories. Its victory is attributable to strong ground work, meticulous strategising, getting the alliances right and hardening its religious and nationalistic rhetoric.

Will it be accommodative of its allies and do the right thing in accelerating growth and getting more jobs as it had been promising? This goes beyond poll promises into a necessity. With victory comes responsibility of strengthening the nation, assuring the minorities of inclusion and living true to their growth for all promise.