This was written by me after the results of the 2014 General Elections
I had never been a “Narendra Modi for PM” fan. It was BJP first for me and then the personalities. And then there was this millstone of 2002 that Modi carried with him. I had always wanted BJP to come to power however, given the complexities of the parliamentary democracy, never believed that the arithmetic would ever add up to give the NDA (let alone the BJP) an opportunity to form the government.
My pessimism was compounded when Nitish Kumar gave a virtual ultimatum to the BJP to declare it’s prime ministerial candidate. With much fanfare the hated face of the party was projected and with that another ally was jettisoned. To me the party was on a suicidal course. And if that was not enough, Amit Shah was appointed the chief hatchet man for the UP campaign. The whole strategy resembled the Onida devil campaign without the neighbour’s pride.
Cut to May 16th where the nation looks at a thumping BJP majority, not just for the alliance but the party as a whole. None of the opinion or exit polls projected such a result barring Chanakya that posted an ambitious 340, a number that the NDA appears to be tracking to today.
The BJP went about its poll campaign with solid precision and a laser like focus. The first step was the nomination of a team captain under whose stewardship the game was going to be played. That was a bold move as the party stuck it’s neck out seeking a presidential style referendum. (The only other party that could possibly go out with a name was the Congress and they refused to do so hiding behind the technicality that the elected MPs chose the leader). The voter knew well ahead of time that a vote for the BJP and it’s allies is a vote for Narendra Modi for prime minister. That lent a whole lot of credibility to the campaign and the voter had the complete option to reject Modi. So, in a lot of ways, this became an election not just for a party but also a consensus on who should be prime minister. That to me was the significance of this election.
A lot was said about the sidelining of the old guard like Advani, Joshi and Jaswant Singh. What made the strategy clinical was the absence of sentiment and an absolute priority to putting in a winning combination. The buck stopped at the table of Narendra Modi; incidentally, this approach came in for a lot of criticism from all quarters within and outside. Had BJP lost this election, it perhaps would have been political oblivion for Narendra Modi and his team and that is what he staked during this election.
What next for the BJP? The campaign message was aspiration. BJP has a great responsibility and has to deliver on its campaign promises. With its pro-business stance, it should strive to expand the pie and deliver prosperity to the common man. The global economy is picking up and the BJP has come in with an absolute majority. It would have a full opportunity to focus on its economical and developmental agenda. Policy paralysis should be non-existent. These are the tail winds that the BJP should take advantage off. At a social level, BJP has a perception problem of it not been inclusive. The “2002 Industry” will never go away. I guess when the fruits of development and economic prosperity touch all strata of society, those perceptions would automatically stand corrected.
The journey has just begun.
The-White-Belt 