Why Modi factor failed in Punjab
CHANDIGARH: Despite Modi magic sweeping the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it failed in Punjab with the BJP winning only three of total 23 seats it contested.
The Hindu voter and urban areas — strongholds of the saffron party — voted for Congress, pushing BJP to the margins. It won a seat each in three regions — Majha, Malwa and Doaba.
The baggage of anti-incumbency of 10 years (with ally Shiromani Akali Dal) was too heavy that the party could not insulate itself. A BJP leader from Doaba who did not want to be named said: “The negativity on the Akali Dal was huge and it overshadowed everything.”
Though BJP’s top leaders, including party president Amit Shah, PM Narendra Modi, and ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, campaigned, they failed to woo the voters. BJP suffered a setback winning just three seats out of its share of 23 in coalition with SAD which contested on 94 seats. The saffron party’s vote share also dipped from 7.14% in 2012 to 5.4%. The party had won 12 seats in 2012 and 19 in 2007.
The voices of dissent have started coming out against state unit president Vijay Sampla but everyone, it seems, is waiting for the right time to strike. After the UP hangover, the party leadership will assess reasons behind its poor show in Punjab. Sampla will also be back from England tour on March 21.
The state BJP chief’s opposition has started building up as Som Parkash, elected for second consecutive term from Phagwara, said: “I won despite the opposition (from Sampla) and the party knows it all.”
Party insiders say the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was annoyed with the SAD due to incidents of attack on its “shakhas” and assassination of its top leader Jagdish Gagneja. The BJP might claim that RSS worked only on 23 seats of their quota but the result doesn’t show it. “After all that, do you expect the RSS to help the Akalis?” questioned a BJP leader.
“Two fault lines emerged during the campaign — institutionalised Sikh religion versus deras, and radical Sikhs versus Hindus. This shifted the Hindu and urban votes, including Sikhs, towards Congress,” said Pramod Kumar, director, Institute for Development and Communication.
Head of the political science department, Guru Nanak Dev University, Jagrup Singh Sekhon says: “I think Modi never allowed his magic to work in Punjab. The negativity of the SAD-BJP government was so huge that fighting it would have wasted time and finances, which the party preserved for Uttar Pradesh.”
Corroborating the statement, former BJP state unit president Kamal Sharma said: “The SAD being major partner was leading the campaign and the BJP central leadership campaigned as needed by the alliance.”
The last-minute faux pas by the AAP of giving preference to the radicals also hurt the BJP as Hindu voters voted for a “tangible” force Congress.