India’s ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) made big gains in state elections in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. While the BJP captured power in Jharkhand, it won 25 of 87 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, its best showing ever in the Muslim-majority state. This reflects the public’s sentiment for good governance and economic well-being. The results have, however, sent out a strong missive to opposition parties, mainly the Congress, that the voter is no longer enamoured with their policies, philosophy and lack of vision in the short and long term. Accountability and authority are the key components that the voter is attracted to and the Congress, in contributing to its own downfall, has not shown either attribute.
To make matters worse, it appears that the Congress has no alternate plan that would facilitate a return into the political spectrum and to present itself as a viable choice for the voter. The party think-tank is mentally crushed and its thought process is insular given that it cannot see beyond the Gandhis. The Congress’s senior leaders have pressed the pause button and are waiting and hoping for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to fall out of favour. By all accounts, it could be a long wait. They need to facilitate their own internal revival and touch the people’s conscience by adopting the appropriate stances on important issues. The BJP is cruising from one triumph to another underscoring its dominance of the country’s political landscape. It’s importance is emphasised by the fact that it now holds a crucial bargaining chip as leverage in Jammu and Kashmir, which had shunned BJP’s ideology for decades. More crucially, expectations have been raised with indications that the economy is undergoing a slow but sure revival, and there is no longer policy paralysis in administration. It is the basic formula for success — one that the Congress may be ruing as a lost opportunity.
