What state polls say about our democracy

The Maharashtra performance will add to the confidence of BJP and NDA and make INDIA bloc insecure about winning elections

- Shashi Shekhar

The other day, the duo met at a 'power dinner' in New Delhi. Both gentlemen have graced the Union Cabinet of ministers as members of opposing coalitions. They fielded identical questions: What would be the outcome of the Maharashtra polls? I humbly fielded a counter question: Please enlighten me, as both of you are the quintessential political insiders.

The member of the ruling dispensation asserted that his coalition would return to power, insisting that he was convinced that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi possesses a siddhi (magic wand) that helps him wriggle out of the tightest of situations. This election will be another testimony to that "magic".

The opposition leader, on the other hand, threw up his hands in exasperation and said: "I have given up election forecasts after the Haryana results. I don't know what 'secret sauce' the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uses to cast a spell on the electorate in the last few days of the campaign and all our calculations go for a toss." Incidentally, he had returned from Mumbai the same day after attending a marathon election campaign review. Pay attention to the words of the two veterans-siddhi and secret sauce. What does it mean?

The member of the ruling coalition wasn't talking about PM Modi's special spiritual powers, instead, he was referring to his brilliant political skills and uncanny ability to read people's minds. That's the reason the BJP workers believe even if the party's seats diminish in any election, it will more than make up in the next.