Warning Signs Loom

What The BJP Needs To Learn From The 3-0 Loss To Get Back On Track For Lok Sabha 2019

- Uday Mahurkar

December 11, 2 pm. As electoral defeat of the ruling BJP in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh became clear and another setback stared it in the face in Madhya Pradesh, a sombre mood gripped the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi. Unlike March 2018, when the office was teeming with Union ministers and BJP leaders rejoicing over a decisive victory in Tripura, only the official spokespersons stayed put this time.

The reverses prophesied challenge for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the three Hindi heartland states that the party had swept in 2014, winning 62 out of 65 seats. The official line, though, was different. “We accept the verdict. But to say that it has raised questions for us for Lok Sabha 2019 is too far-fetched,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said after the results. “We need to deeply introspect about Chhattisgarh, but in MP, the Congress could barely overtake us despite it being our fourth-term poll. In Rajasthan, we did much better than expected by our rivals.”

According to BJP insiders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah helped recover a lot of lost ground in Rajasthan in the face of massive anti-incumbency against Vasundhara Raje, and the defeat in MP was by a whisker after being in power for 15 years.

Yet, for the formidable ModiShah combine, it’s time for introspection. Clearly, the BJP cadre failed to enthuse voters in the face of swelling anti-incumbency in the three states. In Chhattisgarh, Modi-Shah’s whirlwind campaigning and the impact of central government schemes couldn’t save the Raman Singh government as it battled charges of corruption and poor governance. “In Rajasthan, the BJP won at least 20 seats more due to Modi and Shah’s campaigning and deft booth management,” conceded a senior Congress leader.

PRESSURE OF POPULISM