As pundits and commentators discuss what the ramifications of this election will be, let’s look at five things that became clear from the results.
File photos of Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Annamalai
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 5, 2024 18:26 IST
While Narendra Modi is all set to be sworn in as prime minister once again, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance’s failure to earn a strong mandate has put the party and the coalition in a state of some uncertainty. With an under-272 BJP, Modi 3.0 is likely to be greatly different from the first two terms. As pundits and commentators discuss what the ramifications of this election will be, let’s look at five things that became clear from the results.
1. In the privacy of the polling booth, the Indian voter spoke his mind fearlessly. It is a beautiful victory for Indian democracy, because, with one punch on the EVM, the electorate sent a loud message to the entire political class that intimidation and the politics of hate are not what they want.
2. Never take the Indian voter for granted. The resounding defeat of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who thought his dole-centric governance with little care for development was enough to bring him back to power, is proof. The aversion of the people to intimidation by local-level YSRCP leaders, corruption and arrogance hit Jagan hard.
3. Never write off a politician. If you want proof, look no further than N Chandrababu Naidu, who has returned in style after a terrible time out of power in the last five years, suffering humiliation and a stint in jail. Naidu, who ushered in e-governance in Andhra Pradesh in the 1990s, has logged in with a more powerful mandate. Reduced to just 23 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections, Naidu was ridiculed by the YSRCP and even sent to jail for 53 days in the Skill Development case last year. His performance on June 4 has shown that he will “never say die”. Over the past five years, Naidu lived to fight another day and when he entered the boxing ring in the May 13 election, he delivered a knockout blow to his bete noire YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The YSRCP squandered away its 151-seat mandate (in a 175-seat Assembly) in 2019 in this electoral tsunami unleashed by Naidu and Co.
4. The remote controls of the new NDA government will be in Amaravati and Patna. The BJP’s failure to cross the halfway mark will mark the end of Modi’s unilateral control. One can no longer rule out Delhi having to secure NOCs on important decisions from Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, without whose support, the NDA coalition would collapse like a house of cards.
5. Media blitz and social media chatter alone do not make a leader. The defeat of media favourites like K Annamalai and Madhavi Latha is a case in point. This election should force the BJP to evaluate not just its messaging but also how its cadre is being managed.
(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)
Published On:
Jun 5, 2024
English (US) ·