Modi scripts UP history
Also wins U’khand; hung House in Goa, Manipur
Gratitude to people of India for continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. It’s humbling and overwhelming.
— Narendra Modi, PM
Either the EVMs did not accept votes other than BJP, or the votes of other parties have gone to BJP... Mayawati,
BSP supremo
It’s now proven that since Independence, Modiji is the most popular PM of this country... the poor love him Amit Shah,
BJP president
At this rate, we might as well forget 2019 and start planning (and) hoping for 2024
Omar Abdullah, National Conference leader
If in 2014 he demolished the Opposition with his raging tsunami, in 2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi charged like the light brigade to rout his rivals yet again in the battle for the ballot. He led the saffron campaign with aggression and secured a brute majority in the high-stake UP polls by claiming 325 of the 403 Assembly berths.
That the Modi mania remains intact became evident as the BJP recorded 42 per cent vote share in UP, only one per cent less than 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Aided by master strategist and BJP president Amit Shah, the Prime Minister scripted the BJP’s return to power in UP after a gap of nearly 15 years. Coupled with the party’s victory in Uttarakhand, where they romped home by ousting the Congress, March 11 marks the transformation of “brand Modi” to “invincible Modi.”
In Manipur and Goa a strong battle rages between BJP and Congress. The muchneeded victory in UP, after the drubbing in Delhi and Bihar Assembly polls will help Mr Modi and the BJP emerge much stronger for the 2019 general elections. The electoral victory will also help the BJP regain lost ground in Gujarat, where elections are due next year.
With the unprecedented and historic victory in Uttar Pradesh, which is being viewed as a verdict in favour of the PM’s controversial demonetisation policy and his pro-poor propaganda, Mr Modi seems to have hit his “Indira Gandhi moment”. In the 1971 Lok Sabha polls, Indira Gandhi demolished the Opposition with her slogan
Continued from Page 1 “Log kehte hain Indira hatao, main kehti hoon garibi hataon.” The Prime Minister tweaked the slogan a bit — “Yeh log (Opposition) kehte hain Modi hataon, main kehta hoon kala-dhan hatao,” and turned demonetisation into a crusade against the rich.
The poor queued up to vote for him. Also, following in the footsteps of Indira Gandhi, Mr Modi relied on himself and his own charisma rather than state leaders to garner votes.
“Gratitude to people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. This is very humbling and overwhelming,” the Prime Minister tweeted. He also responded to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s congratulatory message, saying, “Thank You. Long live democracy.”
In all the five states which went to polls, the BJP did not project any CM candidate. Mr Modi was the face of the party everywhere. He held 23 rallies across UP and two road shows in his home turf, Varanasi. Apprehension and criticism that the BJP’s failure to project a CM face could cost the party in UP proved wrong.
In Punjab, the BJP apparently became a victim of anti-incumbency against the Akali Dal. But proving the pollsters wrong, SADBJP managed 18 seats against AAP’s 20.
Though the Congress is all set to form the government in Punjab, its dismal performance in UP and Uttarakhand yet again put a question mark on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
Worst hit are AAP chief Arvind Kejirwal and the BSP’s Mayawati. While Mr Kejriwal’s attempt to expand beyond Delhi fell flat with the outfit’s failure to win Punjab and open its account in Goa, the crushing defeat in UP could possibly mark the end of the road for Mayawati.
With verdict 2017, Mr Modi now towers over all his rivals, a fact that even Oppositions leaders acknowledged.
Omar Abdullah tweeted, “How the hell did almost all the experts/analysts miss this wave in UP? It’s a tsunami not a ripple in a small pond. At this rate, we might as well forget 2019 and start planning (and) hoping for 2024.”
P. Chidambaram told a gathering at Indian Merchants Chamber in New Delhi, “The elections today have clearly established that the most dominant political figure in India is Prime Minister Modi. And he has a panIndia appeal.”
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav have all been crushed in one fell swoop.
The BJP’s victory could also result in worry lines on the forehead of Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee, who led the charge against Modi sarkar’s demonetisation policy.
Ms Banerjee had also been travelling across the country to drum up support against the demonetisation policy and meeting antiBJP and anti-Congress leaders to cobble up a federal front for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who intends to join hands with Mr Modi’s bete noire and leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, Hardik Patel, for the forthcoming Gujarat elections is likely to go in for an introspection, sources said.
What is also worrying for the Opposition is the way the Prime Minister blended the caste dynamics with his pro-poor moves. Discarding its pro-upper caste image, the BJP gave 119 seats to non-Yadav OBCs, struck an alliance with an unknown outfit of the Rajbhars (dalits), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj, and gave them eight tickets.
Though the BJP played the OBC and non-Jatav cards in UP, the results also indicate a massive reverse polarisation against the Opposition’s alleged “minority appeasement.”
In his election speeches, Mr Modi subtly used the polarisation card by invoking nationalism and Hindutva. He played to the majority community with his contentious remarks on Muslim graveyards and Ramzan.