DRESS REHEARSAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEYOND any shade of doubt, the outcome of the legislative elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana needs to be considered to be sort of a dress rehearsal or semi-final match for the Lok Sabha elections about five months from now. The manner in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance-NDA) regained power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and how it retained power in Madhya Pradesh by defeating the main opponent Congress shows the massive popular tilt in BJP’s favour ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the summer of 2024. Of course, the Congress party has at least some solace in Telangana where it wrested power from the Bharat Rashtra Samiti headed by incumbent Chief Minister Mr. K. Chandrasekara Rao -- KCR --, thanks to the failed politics and policies of the ruling party. KCR suffered from his own political myopia and lack of grander vision for national politics. No matter that, these elections have shown clearly as to who is the Big Daddy of domestic politics in the country -- the BJP. With this successful dress rehearsal, enough and credible indications are now available for the country about the political direction the electorate is slated to take in the impending Lok Sabha elections. What needs to be marked with emphasis is the response Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi offered upon knowing the results - “We bow to Janata Janardan ...” for its verdict in favour of good governance and development. In sharp contrast, several hundred kilometers apart in Jammu, National Conference leader Mr. Omar Abdullah confessed disgustedly, in effect, that with such a condition, the Opposition cannot hope to win in 2024. Slowly, the official responses of different parties, Congress included, will emerge in the labyrinthine political space. But there would be no doubts in the people’s minds about what the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections are going to be.

 

But these election results have made one thing amply clear -- that while the BJP and its NDA allies are well-settled and nestled in their respective positions, the so-called I.N.D.I Alliance has been torn asunder. The proof of this is available right in Telangana -- where the Congress has ousted its (I.N.D.I.A.) ally in a near-straight contest and has forced it to the Opposition benches. Obviously, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti is not going to accept this negative role-reversal and is not likely to continue in the so-called grand alliance of the Opposition parties. It is unfathomable how the I.N.D.I. Alliance is going to handle its intra-group dynamics with this new political reconfiguration. For the BJP, the legislative election results bring a happy signal -- of its good governance and its pro-people and development-oriented approach to politics. The best proof of this came from Madhya Pradesh where the BJP Government will continue into its fifth consecutive term. Though incumbent Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan was not officially declared the BJP’s CM-face, the electorate considered him the leader beyond doubt. Being a seasoned politician, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan altered his approach to the rapidly changing political equations and cooperated fully with the party’s central leadership that dominated the process of selection of candidates in no uncertain terms. In contrast, the Congress party, led regionally by the seasoned Mr. Kamal Nath, suffered from internal fault-lines that laid bare the organisational weaknesses leading to electoral defeat. The electorate saw the sharp contrast between the Congress and the BJP and gave its clear verdict. In Rajasthan, too, the Congress suffered the same fate for the same reasons, with Chief Minister Mr. Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Mr. Sachin Pilot engaged in politically-bleeding fight, as if ensured that the party could not win. That was in spite of the fact that BJP leader and former Chief Minister Mrs. Vasundhara Raje fielded quite many independent candidates on her own with a purpose of slicing off lots of votes from the BJP voter-base.

 

Those strategies obviously did not work. Only time will tell now what the fate of Mrs. Vasundhara Raje will be politically. In Chhattisgarh, again, a similar story was scripted -- complete with internal feuds, shameless corruption by people at the helm, mutual hatred among leaders, and uncaring attitude towards issues of governance. Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel and his deputy Mr. T. S. Singdeo were engaged in a debilitating fight that lasted for too long before any attempt was made to calm things down. The result was obvious -- the Congress ensured its own defeat -- and gave space for the BJP to snatch back power. The BJP did not have a declared CM-face, all right. But former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh was considered to be the leader of the party in the electoral contest. It is still not known in whose favour will the choice be made for the top post. But in the political reality of the moment, that may not be a detail that matters. Going by the BJP’s grander electoral strategy, it is clear that the party opted against naming the CM-faces in all the States. It is possible that an entirely new set of State leaders could be chosen for the new BJP Governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. In quite many places in the States, the BJP had chosen to field some of its central leaders and ministers and Members of Parliament. That strategy has delivered the desired results. Obviously, the BJP strategists led by Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah new the points that needed heavy-weights to counter the rivals. Treating these elections as a full-dress rehearsal for 2024, the BJP custom-made its strategies.