It’s still a victory for Rahul and Congress say analysts

While the Bhartiya Janata Party has scored a fifth consecutive victory in Gujarat election securing 99 seats feeling highly elated and jubilant, its triumph is not being taken as an extremely impressive one as was being expected particularly in view of the hectic campaigning of prime minister Narendra Modi in his home turf and BJP’s traditional bastion where it’s in power for the last 22 protracted years.

The BJP has minussed its seventeen seats in this election whereas the Congress has added 19 seats into its tally with the three (others) also on its side. This election has outrightly contradicted the pre election over confident claim of acknowledging 150 seats in BJP’s favour by its president Amit Shah. While this election has enhanced 1.2 % vote share of the BJP, the Congress’s vote share has enhanced by 2.5 percent, just the double of the former. Though the decrease in 17 seats of the BJP in Gujarat election has send a message across that despite victory the BJP’s popularity graph is diminishing steadily it also reflects that Congress is gaining ground in Gujarat and therefore may subsequently gear up nationally in 2019 if it really improves organisationally at the state and national level.

The BJP has won in majority of the urban areas but lost in the rural areas meaning that people in majority of the rural areas are gradually becoming disenchanted with the ruling BJ and its agrarian policies. But above all, the BJP’s victory even after ruling for twenty long years, abruptly killing the anti incumbency factor, unambiguously speaks of the fact that Modi magic is still relevant in Gujarat, his home turf and that his charisma is equally still intact nationally as well keeping in view the incessant winning spree of BJP after Modi’s becoming the prime minister since 2014 with 19 states in its la. Had the prime minister Narendra Modi not held 7 public meetings during the last leg of the Gujarat elections, the BJP would have suffered badly say the political analysts.

The BJP’s victory in these two states have also made one thing absolutely clear that the controvertial issues of demonetisation and GST couldn’t have any adverse affect or impact on its winning chances as not only has the party received two thirds majority in Himachal Pradesh but has also won in majority of the urban areas in Gujarat where lives the business community. However, the victory of 4 Congress lawmakers in Somnath temple vicinity and the BJP candidate losing in prime minister Modi’s home seat Vadnagar to the Congress lawmaker do send the worrying signals for the BJP. It’s really the time for self introspection for both the Congress and BJP as 2019 elections are significant for both the parties in which the prestige of both Modi and Rahul is involved. What’s your take friends?
SUNIL NEGI