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Editor, Goemkarponn
AERIAL VIEW
As the media and many politicians in Goa had written off BJP even before elections and claimed that whatever happened in Karnataka would be repeated, I decided to visit Madhya Pradesh and get the first hand knowledge of what was actually happening there.
Even in the flight, a co-passenger from Mumbai, told me BJP is losing MP, I said “let’s see”.
I visited the cities of Indore, Ujjain and Bhopal and found that the pulse of the people was completely different to what was being spoken outside MP.
The first guy who told me BJP is winning was the taxi driver from airport.
He said, “bhai sahab, BJP hi aayegi. yeh jo Ladli Behna scheme launch kiya hai woh ek dum hit hai.”
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
What seemed looked like a sure-short victory for the grand old party turned out to be one of their worst debacle in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.
The Telangana victory was just a consolation prize for the party, which seeks to dislodge the party in 2024 Lok Sabha Polls – which seems a distant dream for now.
The Congress lost its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and failed to dislodge the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.
Though the party won Telangana, its dismal head-to-head record against the BJP cast a long shadow on the grand old party’s ability to put up a credible fight against the BJP in the Hindi belt, and effectively relegated it to southern India.
Why Congress Failed in MP?
As the media and many politicians in Goa had written off BJP even before elections and claimed that whatever happened in Karnataka would be repeated, I decided to visit Madhya Pradesh and get the first hand knowledge of what was actually happening there.
Even in the flight, a co-passenger from Mumbai, told me BJP is losing MP, I said “let’s see”.
I visited the cities of Indore, Ujjain and Bhopal and found that the pulse of the people was completely different to what was being spoken outside MP.
The first guy who told me BJP is winning was the taxi driver from airport.
He said, “bhai sahab, BJP hi aayegi. yeh jo Ladli Behna scheme launch kiya hai woh ek dum hit hai.”
(Bro, BJP will win as Ladli Behna Scheme is a hit.”
Besides, he said, Congress does not have a good leader in MP. People said, “Kamal Nath was a spent force”.
As a jounalist who believes in doing research himself, I decided to take autos to most places instead.
Be it Indore or Ujjain, the mood seemed to be in favour of BJP as I spoke to several people like the owners of restaurants like “Chotiwala” and “Gurukrupa” or a pundit in Ujjain, they all said “Only BJP”.
I felt the pundit is bound to support BJP and told him Rahul Gandhi also visited Mahakal in Ujjain, he said, “yeh sab dhong hai.”
Well after visits to these three places I felt that though there were few sentiments were against BJP, majority were in their favour. No way Congress is going to have a cakewalk.
While travelling in an auto-rickshaw he told me, “Sir Indore & Ujjain only is with BJP rest other places are with Congress.
So this confused me again and I decided to extend my stay and went to places like Khajuraho and Kanha Tiger reserve which are in interior and boy, the auto-rickshaw driver was completely wrong, the euqation seemed 3:1 in favour of BJP in every peoson I asked.
More or less on my return to Goa I was sure BJP is going through but felt that the margin would be thinner.
I came to Goa and told this to one of politicians in ruling party and he was shocked, he said, “You are wrong Suraj, I am ready to bet any amount, BJP is going home in MP.”
Well, had I accepted that bet, I could have been a milionaire today.
My observation – Soft Hindutva Fails to Impress
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress party left no stone unturned to adopt soft Hindutva approach, stronger than it has in any state previously. From celebrating the foundation of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, to branding his image as an ardent Hanuman Bhakt, Kamal Nath was very clear on his pro-Hindu stance.
Then, months ahead of the elections, the Congress joined hands with the Bajrang Sena, a right-wing outfit that has previously campaigned for the BJP extensively. The party also tried to lure jilted temple priests promising them better land rights.
Attempting to lure traditional BJP vote banks, such as pujaris, was always going to be an uphill task. The ambitious plan of the Congress evidently fell short, and may in fact have helped the BJP by bringing out their strong-Hindutva in contrast. For instance, in Dewas, which was one of the primary places where Congress attempted its pujari-outreach, the BJP candidate is leading by over twenty five thousand votes, a massive margin.
Congress now loses bargaining power
At least two members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Monday asked the Congress to immediately start seat-sharing talks for the 2024 elections as constituents of the Opposition bloc mounted pressure and insisted that proceedings in the ongoing winter session not be disrupted on any issue to allow participation in debates.
A day after the Congress suffered an electoral drubbing in India’s heartland, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the lack of seat-sharing arrangements for the losses, and said it was a defeat of the Congress, not a disaster for the larger Opposition. Her comments come at a time when the alliance faces an existential crisis even before fully taking shape as a result of Sunday’s verdict.
“Look at the figures. BJP won by thin margins. It happened because of split in (Opposition) votes. There should have been proper seat sharing,” Banerjee said.
“The results have come, and arrogance has ended,” said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who had spoken out against the lack of a pact during the Madhya Pradesh election campaign.