BJP can''t take voters for granted

NEW DELHI: The BJP today encountered its biggest electoral setback since Bihar and Delhi in 2015. The main takeaway, perhaps, is that Narendra Modi''s return to power in 2019 is no longer a done deal. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh broke the myth that the Congress could not match the BJP in a one-on-one. Mizoram and Telengana busted another belief that there was no alternative to Modi.

Magic not working? The BJP headquarters in New Delhi. AFP

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 10

The BJP today encountered its biggest electoral setback since Bihar and Delhi in 2015. The main takeaway, perhaps, is that Narendra Modi's return to power in 2019 is no longer a done deal. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh broke the myth that the Congress could not match the BJP in a one-on-one. Mizoram and Telengana busted another belief that there was no alternative to Modi.

"It is a time for the party to pause and introspect," observed BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Congress' electoral success has proved that BJP master strategist Amit Shah needs to change tack and find new allies, that the party can no longer take upper caste voters for granted in its quest to woo Dalits and OBCs, that anger among the farmers and youth is not a figment of the Opposition's imagination, that the after-effects of demonetisation are now showing and more importantly, its star campaigner PM Modi is no longer drawing as many votes as in the past.

The BJP's poll plank of Hindutva seems no longer viable with its poster boy Yogi Adityanath unable to swing votes in the party's favour. Though the Sangh Parivar tried to revive the Ayodhya temple issue, poll results show the people no longer trust the BJP on it.

Officially, the BJP dismissed the results as a reflection on the working of the state governments, letting CMs Raman Singh and Vasundhra Raje take moral responsibility. In private, they say its good the people’s anger has been expended at this stage when there is still time for course correction.

The results have given a new voice to allies, silenced into submission in the "new BJP" under Modi and Shah. The party’s poor performance in the Hindi heartland is worrying. Rajasthan has 25 seats in the Lok Sabha, MP 29 and Chhattisgarh 11. The results may also have a bearing on voters' sentiments in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh (80) and Bihar (40). The BJP had swept these states in 2014 and a Congress upsurge can translate into huge losses for the saffron party in 2019.

The silver lining for the BJP is Madhya Pradesh where CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan emerged has managed to hold on despite the ant-incumbency. Ggiven that it is the Lok Sabhapolls that the BJP is now worried about, the TRS sweep in Telengana too is worrisome.