Bhubaneswar: The just concluded elections in Maharashtra and Haryana and the other by-elections spread across the country have given a mandate that indicates the beginning of a change in the electoral preferences of the people.
For the last six to seven years the nation saw a wave that concentrated on a particular persona and a particular ideology that many saw as slanted towards a particular section of the country. But nothing is permanent in a democracy and the citizens of this country are mature enough to decide what is good for them.
The election results of Maharashtra and Haryana have directly indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party is losing its sheen and the momentum is faster than expected. Its massive victories in the last two general elections made the party more euphoric and it just concentrated on propaganda policies that many saw as just hollow blitz.
In Maharastra elections, the BJP won the battle but lost the momentum. It has lost a considerable number of seats when compared to 2014 elections and the vote percentage is down more than expected. The party’s all weather ally Shiv Sena also had to face reduced voting percentage in its favor and loss of seats indicating a shift in the people’s choice. In Haryana, the party had boasted to get more than 60 seats on its own. But the juggernaut stopped just near the half way mark. In Uttar Pradesh also, although the party retained the number of seats, the voting percentage in its favor when compared to the last general elections was more than 15 percent down. It indicates that the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is staring at a downfall in the coming day.
The results are the outcome of a number of issues that the country is facing today. As the economy is under stress and the government is unable to fight the challenge, its repercussions are seen in the voting. The euphoria of Balakote and Article 370 also seem to be of little impact on the voters of the country. What is most important to note here is the people have become more intelligent and they are changing their opinion when required.
Another dimension to the BJP’s decreasing votes is the stiff competition from the regional parties of the country.
In Maharashtra, BJP had expected to form government on its own majority but after the results the support of Shiv Sena is invincible. Now Shiv Sena is also dictating the terms to BJP on the formation of the government and wants a greater pie and even the Chief Minister’s post also. In Haryana too the regional parties played the spoilsport for the BJP as it could not reach the half way mark. Now it’s trying to woo the regional candidates to form the government.
Prime Minister’s high pitched rhetoric against Congress and other regional parties may have boomeranged and helped negative impact on it. The high decibel nationalist pitch also angered the minorities. The coercive politics and the speeches of hatred towards opposition was at a height during the polls. Use of national media to highlight unnecessary issues and hand around the prime minister could not help the ruling party.
The results of Haryana and Maharashtra are the alarm bells for the BJP that the time has come to rethink on what they are doing with the country and think of the development of the people. The bottom line is arrogance of the ruler will not be forever and it has to face the electorate to survive.
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