The Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive meeting this weekend in Bhubaneswar underscores its intent, and optimism, to conquer the east and the south, where regional parties dominate the political landscape. The two-day mega show in the capital of Odisha, a state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to project as a “laboratory” for his “development agenda”, will likely push regional parties to close ranks. It comes weeks after the Hindu nationalist party, with a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh, demonstrated it can take on regional parties in their bastions.
At this point, the BJP is on a roll; and its leader, PM Modi, appears unstoppable from returning to a second term in 2019. But two years is a long time in politics. A lot can happen between now and the next Lok Sabha elections, just as it did in the first three years of Modi’s tenure. Shortly after the BJP swept to power in May 2014, it suffered a humiliating defeat in the Delhi state polls. Months later, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad succeeded in forging a winning front in Bihar. Also around this time, Rahul Gandhi’s narrative of Modi’s being a “suit-boot ki sarkar” was beginning to find takers. In no more than two years of winning a historic mandate, Modi had begun to lose grip, until Assam happened. The BJP was quick to learn the mistakes it had made in figuring out the arithmetic of caste and religion in Bihar. It was quick to cash in on the Assam victory and turn the tide with spectacular wins in elections that followed – from local body elections in Mumbai and Odisha to the big-ticket fight in Uttar Pradesh.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment