The New Moghuls

The last time I studied a colour indexed map on territorial gains was while I studied history in school. Today, I did a re-run of that! 

Picture from The Times of India.

The debates analysing the win even displayed undertones of bafflement at the extent of the victory of the BJP (and its allies). The absence of  strong local regional leaders from the opposition parties - parties that were almost like a headless chicken, the recent currency reform of ‘demonetisation’ that fuelled the sense of schadenfreude amongst the population, the youth that wanted a change in governance in tune with their own aspirations and the caste-cards, played well in favour of the BJP.  The only State where the Congress was able to hold its ground was Punjab, with due credit to the regional leader, Capt. Amarinder Singh, and inspite of Shri. Rahul Gandhi.

The BJP has always been a party known for its discipline and dedication towards its ‘ideology’. Shri. Modi has proved himself to be what Smt. Indira Gandhi was many decades back. Unfortunately, the only other major opposition party with a pan-India presence has not been able to move away from the Gandhi shadow. Today, the BJP, too, relies heavily on the leadership of Shri. Modi, with a few party leaders at the regional levels and even these being only second to him.

The overwhelming win of the BJP, particularly the landslide victory in the most populous State of India, Uttar Pradesh, is an example of how caste politics is kept alive by the politicians - even if the electorate wish to move away from it, the politicians are not going to allow that to happen. The BJP had hit the bulls-eye with its understanding of the complex caste labyrinth of the States and had the perfect matrix of caste-candidate in place. Many say that it was social engineering at its best. Whatever may be the reason, the fact that the mandate has been decisive is, in itself, a good thing. Add to that the gracious manner in which many senior leaders across party lines conceded to the aura of the Modi-Shah duo, one a pan India leader to reckon with and the other a master political strategist!

With this win, the BJP covers two-thirds of the population of India through the States that it has power in. Needless to say, it will now gain control of the Rajya Sabha and nominate a candidate of its choice for President of India, too. Like I had shared in an earlier post, this is not a good sign for a democracy and the opposition must urgently get its act together, even if it means taking the most drastic of steps. The need for a strong opposition in a democracy cannot be overstated - they play the important role of bringing in checks and balances in the dynamics of power play and governance. For a country as complex as India, it is imperative that we have political and ideological diversity, that every opinion may be voiced fearlessly and every such voice is heard without bias. 

The BJP winning will assure more stability in governance. Time will tell if that results in the development that has been promised to the people. And until the opposition parties get a hold of themselves and reboot, the Sun shall continue to shine on the BJP. The BJP, on its part, must invest in developing a second rung of leaders who can take over the mantle and avoid a ‘Congress-Party-like-situation’ in the future. A political party that relies too much on a personality cult could be slowly nailing its own coffin. Of course, one might argue that political fortunes are cyclical; but, the opposition parties owe it as much to the people as does the ruling party. 

A rainbow of a single colour will be no rainbow and music can't be made with a single note!

I just had to share this one: