Ye Jo Public Hai Ye Sab Jaanti Hai…

The Gods of democracy have delivered their verdict. For one, a party which has showcased majoritarianism and hardline Hindutva, often bordering on brazen communalism as the Opposition perceived it, has been landed a few debilitating punches by the Indian electorate which knew what it had to do to redirect the course of politics to what they perceive as manageable levels.

The fifth election of the new millennium, which was a one-way result for the ruling National Democratic Alliance turned on its head right from the first phase which ended on April 19. As the maximum number of seats (102) went to polls, the ruling party, headed by the fiercely competitive and intuitive Narendra Modi sensed that everything was not going his party’s way.

Since then, as the heat waves seared the country, putting the public to untold misery, the political temperature too rose to a feverish, unbearable pitch in the next six phases which concluded on June 1. After an unsteady, unsure direction to their campaign, irrespective of what the outcomes may be, the INDIA group had began counterattacking, gaining traction among the public too in the process.

For every jibe of BJP and group, the reaction from INDIA was swift and the comments carried over multiple platforms. With social media being put to maximum use, specifically YouTube channels which gave the alternate views to that of a BJP-friendly electronic media, the propaganda machinery was burning hot.

Also, despite a protracted battle unleashed by the NDA establishment which saw leaders like Arvind Kejriwal going to jail and the principal Opposition party, the Congress seeing its bank accounts frozen on an IT case and other leaders constantly harangued by the ruling group campaigners, a silent wave of voters which polarized on the other side of the Modi team succeeded very well.

The numbers, at the time of writing, are still in favour of Narendra Modi and his allies who can stake a claim to form the next government at Delhi. However, there are conditions attached and promises to be kept to his team members. This is something Modi, the lone ranger, has never faced in his career as a Chief Minister or the two terms of his Prime Minister era.

The total failure of the exit pollsters to factor in swings and related changes in the mood of the electorate has once again raised doubts in the minds of the Indians whether they are reliable at all. With the saffron party bigwigs not allowing complacency to creep in and keeping the party rank and file in action mode, by and large, it is evident they have managed to hold on to nearly two-thirds of what they won on their own in 2019 which stood at 303 seats.

Number-crunchers and pundits will still argue that the total of seats which their opponents won as a coalition is still lesser than what they won as a single party. Factually correct but the apex position which BJP enjoyed is surely under stress in this term. The vote share too seems is almost that of what it bagged five years ago.

Nothing can take away the fact that this election result is not what the BJP and their wellwishers would have anticipated ever. This is where the Indian voter, who watches these players in the arena of politics unleashes his Brahmastra at regular intervals to sustain the equilibrium of the democratic process. The solitary seat of Kerala for the saffron party and the storming of power into the state of Odisha are developments to be noted.

Yet, this time , they have sent a message that they have not rejected Modi but don’t agree with all that he thinks is good for them. After all, they too have minds of their own to sort out things and this is what was evident on June 4.