Page 18 - The Indian EYE 031822

Op-ED MARCH 18, 2022 | The Indian Eye 18

Polls can be won via charisma,

identity politics & welfarism

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

he first point to note after
March 10’s verdicts is the sub-
tlime messaging of Indian de-
mocracy. Incumbent BJP beat history
in UP and Uttarakhand and won. In
Manipur and Goa, supposedly tough-
to-win small states for the governing
party, BJP improved its tallies. And in
Punjab, voters showed how dramatic
the fallout of popular anger against
established parties can be, by giving
AAP, in existence for only 10 years,
a massive mandate. There’s more.
Voters have demonstrated how em-
phatic they can be in their rejection
of so-called big names – look at how
many stars lost their seats in Punjab,
look at the fast-fading Nehru-Gandhi
brand across states, look at the virtual
irrelevance of Mayawati in UP, look
at the failure of Akhilesh Yadav to
extend SP’s social base. As always in
Indian elections, when old stars crash
to the ground, new stars shine bright.
Yogi Adityanath is now a politician
with the potential to transcend his
state’s boundaries. Arvind Kejriwal
is now an opposition leader with the Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Moscow last Thursday (ANI Photo)
best potential to take the fight to BJP.
And in Pushkar Dhami (despite los- of structure of competition, India’s event, the Congress under Priyanka tions, desertions and missteps even
ing his seat), Pramod Sawant and N polity is deep into the framework of Gandhi obtained a vote share of just as some leaders stayed the course
Biren Singh, BJP has found energetic single-party dominance. Such is the over 2 per cent and won even fewer and still persisted with the ‘idea of
state-level champions in, respectively, dominance of the BJP that its poli- seats than it had in the last assembly AAP’. The oft-ridiculed Bhagwant
Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. tics of misguiding the electorate res- elections. Mann was one.
- Editorial, The Times of India onates with the voters and its limited In Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gand- Aiding the wind in the AAP’s sail
achievements in the field of welfare hi at least got some marks for effort, if was the competitive harakiri between
esults from the five states may provisioning constitute the cen- none for impact. In Punjab, where the the ruling Congress and the Akalis.
be explained by two standard
rtemplates. It could be said that trepiece of its governance record. Congress was in power, her brother, Incredibly, both the Congress and the
Akalis outdid each other in scoring
Rahul, threw away his party’s chances
-- Suhas Palshikar, The Indian Express
the electorate was “misled” or mis- of re-election through the capricious self-goals and demonstrating suicidal
guided by the BJP, barring in Punjab. his time, the latest Neh- replacement of the incumbent chief apathy towards the mood of the state.
This would involve a critique of the ru-Gandhi to enter politics, minister less than a year before the If the Akalis overstayed their re-
BJP campaign. On the other hand, it tPriyanka Gandhi, took it upon polls. Although he was not popular lations with the BJP in the lead-up
could be said that the BJP won riding herself to seek to revive the party’s
on its governance record, including fortunes in Uttar Pradesh. Although with a section of the MLAs, Amarind- to the farmers’ protest, the Congress
demonstrated a masterclass in snatch-
er Singh had wide experience in poli-
its welfare measures. This argument she declined to shift her home base tics, and, more importantly, had taken ing defeat from the jaws of victory.
would ignore both the ideological as- from Delhi to Lucknow and refused a strong stand in favor of the farmers’ The Akalis seemed to lack issues and
sault by the BJP and the many limita- to fight an assembly seat herself, Pri-
tions of its governance model. Both yanka made regular trips to the state. movement. leaders, whereas the perfectly rudder-
less Congress had one too many.
-- Ramachandra Guha,
these arguments will surely possess These were met with breathless excite- The Telegraph (India)
an element of truth and yet miss the ment by those sections of the media -- Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh (Retd),
larger dimensions of these outcomes. (and social media) that still haven’t ive years is a very long time in The Quint
The dramatic victory of the AAP stopped seeing the Nehru-Gandhis state politics; AAP chanced a
in Punjab, the dismal performance of as an Indian version of the House of fvery important lesson in man-
the Congress and the decent show- Windsor. Every visit, every press con- agement, that if you must fail, fail Every week, we look at what the top
ing by the BJP indicate that over and ference, every announcement was re- fast, learn and move on. Not that commentators in the Indian media are
above complex templates of analysis, ported by these dynasty-worshippers AAP had failed. On the contrary, it talking about and bring to you a slice
there is something simpler that needs as presaging an electoral resurgence had made a spectacular debut. How- of their opinions and comments
to be stated and re-stated: In terms of the party in Uttar Pradesh. In the ever, it soon imploded with resigna-

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