Article: Democracy won, BJP also did not lose, then where did the mistake happen?

Swaminathan S Anklesaria Iyer
Long live democracy! There have rarely been such occasions in the history of politics when the losing party is celebrating more than the winner. BJP’s slogan of crossing 400 proved to be a pipe dream. The message of the public is – they do not want India to become BJP’s saffron fiefdom, votes cannot be obtained by communal hate speech, the way protests and media criticism were curbed in the last five years, it will not be easy in the future. In fact, this is the victory of all the basic values ​​of democracy.The era of uncertainty returns
The liberal camp is happy with the setback BJP has received in these elections, but let’s not forget that Modi has returned to power. However, Modi’s ability to guide the country’s future will definitely change. BJP did not get a majority on its own in these elections. This has happened for the first time in the three Lok Sabha elections that the party has fought under Modi’s leadership. With this, a period of uncertainty has returned in Indian politics. BJP will be able to form the government with the help of allies like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, but both of them have betrayed it in the past. This time both of them will demand more respect from it. There is no fear that they will betray BJP very soon, but it is difficult to say what will happen in the long term.

What was the impact on the market?
The tremendous rise in the stock market after the exit polls evaporated on the day of the results but the market is still much higher than where it was at the beginning of the year. If the NDA had lost the election, it would have fallen surprisingly. Actually, the market likes stability. It must also be remembered that it will continue to get the support of Rs 20 thousand crores coming from SIP every month. No major changes have been promised in the BJP manifesto either. It talks about continuing the policies that are already running, more or less, so there will be no change in economic policies. Capital expenditure from the government will remain high.

If there was a claim of clean sweep then why did such results come?
The reasons for BJP’s below-expected performance in these elections are not economic. The country has achieved a spectacular growth of 8.2%. However, the party can argue that it had to fight these elections after the El Niño-affected year, which reduced grain production in rural areas and reduced employment. But Modi’s approval rating is the highest among leaders of democratic countries at 74%. Exit polls had claimed that NDA was going to make a clean sweep. Then why did such results come?

To tell the truth, when opposition is suppressed and most media organizations assume the role of courtiers, the news of growing public discontent does not reach the top leadership in power. Due to fear of power, false praises are given and fake news of public support is given to the leadership. In such a period, the opposition becomes silent and the truth comes out through secret ballot.

Unemployment and inflation are the issues
Looking at the data available now, it is difficult to find any reason for the decline in BJP’s performance. Still, unemployment and inflation are issues for the people. If that is the case, then how did BJP get all the seats in Madhya Pradesh, while its performance in UP was very poor? In the assembly elections held 6 months ago, the party had won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. Then why did the performance in Rajasthan deteriorate so quickly? It is true that local issues matter, yet a deep analysis is needed to find the answer to this question. BJP has got a historic victory in Odisha, where it was successful in snatching power from five-time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, but it has lost a lot of ground in Bengal. BJP is saying that it has gained in the South, but in Andhra Pradesh it has got more seats due to its allies TDP and Jana Sena Party. In Kerala, it managed to win one seat, but the reason for that is the party’s candidate. he/she is a popular actor, so he/she was able to do this feat. NDA did not get a single seat in Tamil Nadu. The party has gained a big advantage only in Telangana, which means it has a long way to go in the South.