Indian voters give decisive vote for hope and order
A great show by the ruling BJP in state elections in India is a clear win for Modi’s vision
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a very happy man. On Saturday, poll results for five states were announced.
In the most populous Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Modi’s party, the BJP, won 325 of the 403 states. In the nearby Uttarakhand, Modi won 57 of the 70 seats. In Goa, the Congress pulled off a thin victory (17 of the 40 seats). The Congress led in Manipur (28 of the 40 seats), but the moral — and most likely, the political —victory belonged to the BJP, as they garnered 21 seats, improving greatly on their original position of zero presence in the assembly. As a consolation Punjab went to the Congress party (77 of the 117 seats). Ironically, tribalistic Punjab has turned out to be India’s sole liberal bastion in this round of elections.
The most important battle of course was in UP. And not just because it is India’s most populous state and among the largest. UP shows how real India thinks. Contrary to what the talking heads on TV believe, the great mass of Indians think in terms of caste, religion and culture. Modi, being a great politician, would not say it in as many words. But he knows these are the fulcrums on which Indian politics revolves.
The liberals and other fashionistas in Indian media and politics will differ. But a wish is not the same as truth. The bubble in which the secular media has found itself in is a consequence mostly of mutual endorsements. As a result, every time Modi wins, it comes across as a shock to liberals. The UP poll results are a measure of the huge gap yawning between the air-conditioned drawing rooms of urban India, and the dusty bowls of Bharat.
The BJP’s performance in Manipur is especially significant. They have gained a momentous entry into the ever-alienated North Eastern region of India. The brave Irom Sharmila, who opposed the local BJP candidate netted 90 votes. The liberal media was shocked, and said it was incomprehensible that a woman who spent 16 years fasting for a freer Manipur was betrayed in this fashion.
Maybe. But politics does not run on sacrifices of the past. It looks for a convincing promise of the future. The BJP dangled that of development. Electorates go for hope and order.
Bharat seems to belong to Modi. The widening rift between the socalled intelligentsia will have great impact on how factual the Indian discourse is. As it is, the narrative is shot with holes.
The state election results ought — but most likely will not — to raise questions on the opposition. In UP, for instance, the chemistry between Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, has not materialised into a victory. This will strain their ties. But even if it does not, the question will be asked: Is Rahul Gandhi enough of a leader?
The answer is, sadly, no. In politics, as in life, a lot depends on luck. Modi has been exceptionally lucky in most things he has done. Even the measure of demonetisation that was widely thought would be his undoing has now come to be seen as his great fight against corruption.
The electorate, despite the hardships that demonetisation has brought on them, has bought that crusading narrative.
Rahul Gandhi, in comparison, seems devoid of all support of fate. Add to that, the abiding problem of his boyish appearance. If he were a little less good looking, and had a paunch that reassures most Indians of the bonafides of a proper politician, he might have been better off.
But even if one discounted appearances, the Congress party in general is up a blind alley. They just seem unable to drum up a new credibility; the Gandhi dynasty is dangerously close to the end of their political fortunes.
India is still a democracy. And a quietly functioning one at that. Should we put it down to indigenous irony that the opposition no longer figures in it? Slowly but surely, then, India is moving towards a one-party democracy — at least up to the 2024 general elections. Until then, Modi is likely to be the elected king. C. P. Surendran is a senior journalist
based in India.
The electorate, despite the hardships that demonetisation has brought on them, has bought that crusading narrative. Rahul Gandhi, in comparison, seems devoid of all support of fate