The results of Lok Sabha are heartening for the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and also for the Opposition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets a third term in office and equals the record of the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Opposition gets more muscle to keep tabs on the government. But will they be able to band together on issues? In the coming days, some may feel the need to become a part of the ruling government and become a part of the good governance initiative undertaken by Modi. There is no common ideology than to keep Modi out. On that count, the Opposition alliance has failed. Will this hold true is something that cannot be said now.
Rahul Gandhi must be complimented for almost doubling the Congress number from the last Lok Sabha. If he takes over the role of the main Opposition, this will demand more seriousness from him than the glottal reaction to whatever Modi does. By not taking this role, he would miss a great opportunity to be a serious player in Opposition rank.
The results for the BJP are a mixed bag. Running a good coalition by placating NDA partners would not be easy, more so when it would come to taking serious decisions such as the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). It has done extremely well in Telangana and Odisha, the two states that are likely to have BJP state governments in times to come.
But it could not repeat its performance in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, it seems the Opposition succeeded in achieving better coordination of their core voters. Rajasthan went to the old status where the Congress and the BJP won seats almost equally. In Maharashtra too, the Opposition achieved better coordination.
When the BJP spoke of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats, it had a clear vision that it would retain its seats of 2019 plus add a few more here and there. The NDA alliance after all had close to 400 Lok Sabha seats. The party had already reached its peak and repeating the feat was an extremely difficult task.
Beating anti-incumbency for the second time is not an easy task. But without Modi magic and his untiring efforts during the campaign, the NDA would not have come to power. Even during the peak time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (after Kargil victory in 1998), the BJP’s tally was a mere 182. The BJP’s numbers at close to 240 are very respectable by that count, more so if one sees the context of the party winning one of the lowest numbers in UP in recent times.
Despite losing its numbers in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan, the BJP has been able to maintain its lead. With better cadre presence and organisational skills, it would be able to spread its tentacles in new states and try to win more seats in 2024. For the Opposition alliance to do better, the Congress would need to really rediscover itself as a party of true Indian value system.
People of this country have shown that they are not as angry against corruption as they used to be during the time of the Anna movement. Otherwise, they would not have given such a strong muscle to the Opposition where leaders are neck deep in corruption. Perhaps, the Opposition was able to sell the agenda of victimisation. Indians believe in madhyam marg of Gautam Buddha and they have shown that they can be soft to those who pose as victims.
In the coming days, the mandate is sure to put a big challenge to the BJP’s floor management in Parliament. This would mean keeping the Opposition in good humour.
The writer is the convener of the media relations department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.