When the lotus refused to bloom… REALITY DAWNS UPON MODI LOYALISTS, 2014 LS POLL PROMISE OF ACHHE DIN ARE OVER
The swanky BJP office in central Delhi wore a deserted look on Tuesday as results of Assembly elections from five States began to trickle in.
There were no drumbeats, no confetti, no laddoo boxes, no SUVs, no well-armed commandos running alongside the mini-trucks, no stampede — it almost seemed that reality had dawned upon Modi loyalists that Achhe din (good days, a pre-2014 election BJP promise) were over. The extent of disbelief seemed too much to handle by late afternoon. Even rooms of senior office-bearers were locked and it seemed the most visible and otherwise media friendly faces of the party had gone in hiding.
Over two dozen saffron colour tent cloth cabins created to enable television channels beam live interviews of BJP spokespersons, were mostly empty after 4pm. The empty chairs against a wall poster of the BJP party symbols and party name, seemed to remind visitors that NaMo charisma had begun to wane. The hoardings of the party leaders did not seem to attract any onlookers either.
Journalists, camerapersons, and security men outnumbered the party cadres and supporters. The canteen too had a lot of samosas and balushahi by half past fourwaiting to be ordered.
There was a buzz around 3pm that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected at the party headquarters but it soon became clear that it was not to be. The super active BJP national president who has come to be associated with a pre-poll polarisation formula, was neither to be heard nor seen.
Rahul Gandhi’s live telecast visible on television sets seemed to add insult to injury, especially when he said that “I feel sorry for Modi. He did not hear the heartbeat of people and to the farmers. The Prime Minister had a massive opportunity in 2014 …but arrogance had set in.”
Some spokespersons accompanied by their assistants were actually spotted scouting around for correspondents from private news channels to give their analysis. There was no expression of sportsman spirit either in stark contrast to that displayed by Rahul Gandhi who took over as the president of the Congress exactly a year ago.
Although some party leaders said introspection and a review of what may have not worked well for the BJP in the Assembly elections, would obviously follow, others said they would just move on to prepare for the Lok Sabha elections. Some disagreed the results were semi finals before the general election due in the summer of 2019.
Sudesh Verma, national spokesperson of the BJP, said, “We knew it is going to be a tough fight because we are battling incumbency of three terms in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. We though we would be able to break this three terms jinx. Now, you have Congress free north-east. Congress has also lost its hold in the south.”