ALLU ARJUN THE STYLISH STAR OF THE MILLENNIUM - 2019 BATTLEGROUND
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Vol: 26 | No. 4 | April 2018 | R20
www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE
Cover Story
BATTLEGROUND
2019
ALLU ARJUN THE STYLISH
STAR OF THE MILLENNIUM
With the swiftly changing political equations across
the country, how the biggest battle will play out
Thank You BIPL %DODML,QIUD3URMHFWV/LPLWHG www.balaji.co.in www.dighiport.in
editorial
RNI UP–ENG 70032/92, Volume 26, No 4
Allu Arjun is modesty
personalized superstar
EDITOR
Prashant Tewari
Associate Editor
Dr Rahul Misra
B
Political Editor
Prakhar Misra
ig names of South India cinema namely MGR, NTR, Rajnikant, Kamal Has-
san, Chiranjivee, Mohan Babu are household names with global Indian
BUREAU CHIEF
Anshuman Dogra (DELHI), Diwakar Shetty community. The rise of Allu Arjun is likely to script similar success story.
(MUMBAI), Sidhartha Sharma (KOLKATA), Allu rose up the ladder since his debut in Tollywood and has never looked back.
Lakshmi Devi (BANGALORE ) DIvyash Bajpai Allu Arjun soon began riding the wave of success and landed
(USA), KAPIL DUDAKIA (UNITED KINGDOM)
Rajiv Agnihotri (MAURITIUS), Romil Raj blockbuster films such as ‘Arya’, ‘Bunny’, ‘Happy’, ‘Arya 2’,
Bhagat (DUBAI), Herman Silochan (CANADA), ‘Race Gurram’, ‘S/O Satyamurthy’, ‘Sarrainodu’, ‘DJ’ and
Dr Shiv Kumar (AUS/NZ), Nithya Ramesh many others. On the surface, his road to superstardom has
(Fashion & Entertainment )
been enviably easy marking to be the next superstar in the
Content partner
industry. He burns up the screen with his energy that spikes
The Pioneer
Pratham Pravakta out in all direction, sweeping you up with its force even in
Legal Advisors casual encounter.
Vishnu Sharma Adv
Vijai Krishna Adv He is the only South Indian actor whose movies have
Advertisement / Marketing Director reached the Rs 100 crore club thrice. His Hindi dubbed movies have collectively
Diwakar Shetty
Gopal Chopra
surpassed 530 million views on YouTube and have a huge crossover appeal across
Administrative Director
India especially in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and among other
Amit Pandey states. Today, his fan following is increasing by every minute and so is the number
Bal Mukund Gaur of filmmakers wanting to sign him. What’s more he has hit a beautiful equation in
Corporate Communication / PR his personal life as well. Riding the crest of his huge fans followers of 12.7 million in
Sanjay Mendiratta Facebook alone making him the highest among any South Indian actor and many
M M Upadhaya
Bollywood stars. Opinion Express is experimenting with a shift from political to
Graphics & Design
Writeword Commuications (Studio 8) entertainment cover story.
Photographer
Secondly we are reporting in depth assessment of Modi wave in the country:
Ratan Shukla How has the Republic fared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi steering the coun-
Overseas Marketing try towards the general election of 2019? It has been a mixed record, with the will-
OEMCL Ltd (Mauritius), OEHCL ltd (DUBAI) ingness to take decisions trumped by ideological blinkers and a propensity to think
Advertisement / Circulation: of the virtues of Ram Rajya. The Sangh Parivar leadership has not quite reconciled
Delhi / NCR - Hemant Sharma: D 239 itself regarding how far to take the concept of Hindutva in ruling a heterogeneous
Defence Colony New Delhi 110024 INDIA
Tel – 011 49060350 and multi-ethnic country. Two major decisions merit attention — the sudden move
Mumbai - Vijay Kalantri – Advisor: New for demonetisation of a huge chunk of our currency and the hasty introduction of
ExcelsIor BUILDING, 6tH Floor, A.K. NAYAK the Goods and Services Tax. The first decision was Mr Modi’s own prescription
MARG, Fort, MUMBAI - 400001 (INDIA). for the evils of black money and it has badly misfired, slowing down the economy,
Phone: 91 - 22 - 22019265 / 22019160
while the GST, an essential measure that earlier Congress governments had failed
FAX : 91-22- 22019764 / 22019760
to bring in, was imposed somewhat post-haste. The demonetisation scheme was
The magazine is published and printed by Rajiv
Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications essentially Mr Modi’s idea, and although he talked it up as a kind of poor man’s
& Entertainments Pvt Ltd, from Kumpu Graphic revenge against the rich, the poor suffered the most. There has been no suggestion
Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow & printed at of apology on Mr Modi’s behalf on slowing down the economy and its numerous
Kumpu Graphic Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow
– 226001 Tele : 91-522-4060880 & other consequences.
Nikhil Offset An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified In the field of foreign policy, Mr Modi has built on the country’s record, consid-
Company 223, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial erably enhancing ties with Israel and becoming the first Indian PM to unreservedly
Area Phase - I, New Delhi - 110020 Tele : 91-
welcome Israel into the hall of nations. Mr Modi has decided that India’s defence
26812316, 26810097, 26810458, FAX:91
45792362 E-Mail : nikhil223@yahoo.com, and geopolitical links with the Jewish state are important enough to be concentrat-
nikhilg91@gmail.com ed and the risks minimal as the Sunni monarchies are also reaching out to it. Does
Registered Office: OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE Mr Modi have a roadmap beyond the victory post-2019? Judging by his exertions
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Phone: 91-522-4060880 in Davos and elsewhere, he is rustling up plans for a major internal manufactur-
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mobility +91 9984437000 be propitious for such investment because men with money and resources have
email: info@opinionexpress.in
All disputes are subject to be under jurisdiction of
options. The country will enter a new phase after the 2019 polls, and it will be an
courts in Delhi. entirely new ballgame.
All content published may be subject to copyright,
seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion —Prashant Tewari ,
Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express
Communications & Entertainment Private Limited. Editor-in-Chief
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 3
A Monthly News Magazine
April 2018
Cover Story
PM 2019?
WHAT WILL BE
MAJOR FACTORS TO
DECIDE INDIA’S NEXT
PRIME MINISTER
P 8-14
16 P 44
BATTLEGROUND
2019
THE ICONIC STAR
20
Testing
Times
29 Power
Club
35 Bond with
the west
36 Farmer
Friendly
40 Sound of
Success
4 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s s
Saffron Surge
in North East
Modi juggernaut expands Pan India courtesy RSS
Chandan Mitra most backward region. Gradually, the In this context, the BJP’s success
B
BJP is expanding in North-East state by in Tripura suggests that the state’s
JP spectacular show in state leading to the integration of seven Bengali-majority voters switched their
Tripura and Nagaland has sister states with the main land. allegiance to the BJP while the party’s
opened a door for the party To say the BJP’s victories in the sustained efforts to win over the tribal
ambitious plan to start GE North-east, especially in Tripura, are vote also paid off. The Bengali-speaking
2019 campaign. The look historic seems almost like an under- people of West Bengal and Tripura have
east political strategy of BJP to garner statement. Routing the CPM in Tripu- traditionally aligned with the Commu-
over 100 lok sabha seats in order to ra after 25 years is an unprecedented nists and looked only to the Congress
ensure the repeat of 282+ seats in GE achievement comparable only to Ma- as a possible alternative so far. The col-
2019 is well in place. With exception of mata Banerjee’s feat in dislodging the lapse of the Congress across the country
Mamta Banerjee in West Bengal and Left Front from power in Bengal after has obviously impacted voters in the
Navin Patnaik in Odisha, the entire 34 years in 2011. Considering the BJP East too. If the Bengalis in their home-
east is looking saffron. The credit of the failed to win a single seat in the last as- land start to accept the BJP as their pre-
tremendous victories must go to Modi sembly poll in Tripura, its tally of 40 out ferred option, it may bring bad tidings
Amit Shah duo, RSS organization, BJP of 60 this time is truly spectacular. With for Mamata Banerjee. The ascendant
clinical planning and off course access Nagaland and probably Meghalaya also BJP will henceforth be vastly embold-
of tremendous funding. in its kitty, the BJP can now credibly ened to mount a feisty challenge to Tri-
Right from the day Modi govern- claim to be a pan-India party, barring namool, first in the Lok Sabha and then
ment took over the centre: the tremen- some states in the South although it the assembly polls of 2021.
dous focus on North-East has trans- hopes to wrest Karnataka from the Con- What is it that the BJP had to offer
formed the entire eco system of India’s gress later this year. to voters in Tripura? Essentially it was
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 5
the assurance of change encapsulated gress in Kerala, Thiruvanathapuram is strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma has
in its election winning slogan - “Chalo probably the last capital where the red been more damaging than the Congress
Paltai” (let’s change). After 25 years, the flag will fly proudly. Bolstered by the president could have imagined. If the
CPM looked jaded with nothing new to BJP’s resounding victory in Tripura, Congress also loses Karnataka in the
offer. Impoverished voters of underde- the BJP will redouble its effort to first next few months, the idea of a “Con-
veloped Tripura were not impressed replace the Congress as the only opposi- gress-mukt Bharat” would be almost
by the fact that the otherwise popu- tion to the Left and eventually march to fully achieved, barring the odd Punjab,
lar Chief Minister Manik Sarkar was power in the next poll. saved by a strong local leader.
recently “crowned” the poorest Chief Beyond Tripura too, today’s poll re-
Minister of India. The aspirational urge sults have made the BJP and its allies RSS is the backbone of
gripped Tripura voters this time. And the dominant party in the North-East. BJP stupendous success in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image With 26 seats between its seven states, North East
as change-maker swung the polls for which were the near monopoly of the A disciplined cadre and abundance
his party although the BJP had no local Congress, the BJP can be expected to of resources is a must for any political
leader of Sarkar’s stature. Indeed the lap them up in 2019. This is further bad party to succeed in democracy. A well
CPM’s empty rhetoric of ushering an news for the Congress as it had hopes oiled party machine is the basic require-
egalitarian revolution sounded patheti- that the absence of a marked Hindu ment for attaining any electoral suc-
cally hollow to the new generation of vote in these States should enable the cess. The hard work done by RSS in the
voters who thought Modi was the man Congress to retain its erstwhile base. civil society continues to pay dividends
of the hour. Clearly the elections in three small to BJP across the country. The best ex-
The BJP’s critics ensconced in New states of the North-East have signalled ample of it is the marriage of civil so-
Delhi failed to gauge the political mood a turning point in India’s electoral map. ciety interests and political ambition in
in remote Tripura and thought the cad- While Amit Shah’s strategies have tri- North East where RSS has been work-
res would yet again ensure the status umphed once more, Rahul Gandhi’s in- ing from the 1970s.
quo continued. For the CPM, its decima- ability to work on strategies and tactics It is because of this investment of
tion is now almost complete. Though it has resulted in further erosion of the time with civil society issues by RSS,
managed to trump a demoralised Con- party’s support base. The loss of Assam that BJP has been able to build a politi-
cal network in areas which is culturally
and socially different to the ideological
thinking of the RSS.
It is the confluence of social and
cultural networking of RSS with BJP’s
political and electoral machine which
explains the rise of BJP as an important
party in the North East.
A similar investment was made by
the Congress Party during the freedom
struggle. The political action was only
one part of the Congress activity, the
party was involved in hundreds of other
civil society issues. From nation build-
ing to character building, the Congress
worked on a myriad of issues, almost
crafting the mindset of the Indians. It is
this mental world which has been chal-
lenged by the RSS-BJP combine in the
last 50 years.
To understand the success, it is im-
portant to understand the work done by
the RSS in North East. To start with Ar-
unachal Pradesh, RSS runs Arunachal
Vikas Parishad in Arunachal Pradesh
which in other states is known as Van-
vasi Kalyan Ashram. It runs schools
and maintains hostels for the students.
There are thousands of RSS affiliated
schools in the state alone.
The RSS runs National Integra-
tion programmes which allow students
from the North East to stay with differ-
ent families in different parts of India.
Apart from the BJP, more than 4000
trained ‘sevaks’ work in Arunachal
Pradesh who run Shakhas and other
6 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s s
programmes which works at the level refashion the discourse of nationalism Assam on this issue, making minority
of social but impact the political mood. into its own image but only succeeded in votes irrelevant. For Congress to come
Apart from it, affiliated organisations the last 25 years. It is this shift which is back today, it cannot harp on the issue
run Civil Service Orientation Services. finding an imprint in our electoral histo- of alienism of BJP.
There are programmes dedicated ry cutting across regions. It is this world- BJP has become as indigenous as
to students who require engineering view, aided by rapid urbanisation and Congress in the North East. RSS-BJP
coaching. On top of it, new Yoga Centres consolidation of a larger Indian national combine might rest on national integ-
have also come up which focus on indi- identity, that is emerging as the main op- rity, focusing on local issues and threat
vidual character building. Additional to position to highly volatile, violent, domi- which it faces from migrant popula-
this is the massive network of Bal Bari nant and majoritarian global Islam. tions which can change the local politi-
schools. Though RSS insists that it has RSS-BJP’s intensive interaction cal axis.
nothing to do with the BJP but the fact with the civil society has also succeeded Though Congress recently started
is that RSS, unquestionably, has laid in underlining its role as the only party a Professional Congress, it still needs
the ground for BJP in the North East. which unites and keep India united. As- people who can create a daily ritual of
Central to this social action are the face- sam result broke this very myth of geo- interaction between the worker, leader
less pracharaks who devote their lives graphical and ideological limitations of and civil society. It is through this in-
to an ideology that also ends up shaping BJP. It made them local and national at teraction that social opinion in conjunc-
civil society sentiments on a number of the same time. tion with political action translates into
political issues. Such has been the impact of the ef- mass politics. Most of its departments
The special focus is imparting les- fort that the issue of food habit has been are defunct today and have not func-
sons on cultural nationalism (which kept aside in the North East, and prayer tioned properly for years.
is debatable) and national integration houses have been built for local com- Various frontal organisations of the
which provides an alternative discourse munities who worship elements of na- Congress have an episodic and politi-
to the civil society. ture in the state. co-electoral relationship with the civil
Unlike Congress of the 50’s and 60’s Despite having an acrimonious re- society where intimate bond with the
which was then the sole repository of lationship with Christian Missionary organisation is missing. The absence of
nationalism, the RSS-BJP combine has establishment all across India, RSS has this bond further dilutes ideological un-
shifted the axis by claiming nationalism worked both ends in the North East. It derpinning of an individual. It should
as its own domain. Today, they claim to has organised non-Christian communi- worry the Congress. It is for this reason
be the sole repository of nationalism. It ties in their cultural realm preventing that despite a massive anti-incumben-
has allowed them to combine culturally conversions and also engaged the exist- cy, BJP was able to retain Gujarat by a
and socially different voices into one, ing non-Hindu religious establishment thin margin. At the end, personal bond
like pre-colonial Congress. Congress by sharing political space with them. infused with ideology does work.
refashioned the dominant discourse of It created space in states, such as (Dr. Chandan Mitra is a jour-
the nation into its own image. It started Tripura where Congress has not been nalist, currently Editor of The
before independence but was institu- able to unseat the Left for past 15 years. Pioneer Group of Publications.
tionalised after independence. The BJP also hijacked the issue of ille- He is also former BJP MP,
Earlier, the RSS-BJP too wanted to gal migration and consolidated votes in Rajya Sabha.)
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 7
Cover story
PM 2019?
WHAT WILL BE MAJOR FACTORS TO DECIDE INDIA’S
NEXT PRIME MINISTER
8 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s s
Opinion Express News Bureau vote. Another 34 crore are undecided, making a total of 114 of 128 seats. With
C
or not likely to support any one of the BJP as the party to beat, the number of
an you make a difference mainstream parties. Together, the candidates against the BJP will deter-
between business and poli- number is 67 crore – two-thirds of the mine its success in the next election.
tics?” The answer is simple: eligible voters in India. And they are up The more the candidates from the main
“In politics, there is no value for grabs. This is four times the BJP’s parties, the better will be its chances.
for being number two.” core support base, and eight times the So, the key to the next election lies in
There are no prizes for coming sec- core Congress support. the index of opposition unity in these
ond in an election. All you get is five 128 seats.
years to introspect what you did wrong. 128:
Being out of power can be really depress- The total number of seats in the two The Strategies
ing, especially once you have tasted it. large states with four strong parties – Wave Creation:
Elections, thus, are the most innovative Uttar Pradesh with 80, and Maharash- A wave election, like 2014, is need-
form of business, and politicians are tra with 48 seats. BJP won a total of ed to ensure a national mandate. Else,
the smartest entrepreneurs. The Prime 94 seats and its allies won another 20, elections tend to be an aggregation of
Minister’s post is the ultimate trophy in
this winner-takes-all contest. They have
every incentive to try all sorts of innova-
tions, tricks, and games to win and be
number one.
There are nine factors – three sets
of numbers, three strategies, and three
tactics – that will determine India’s next
Prime Minister.
The Numbers
330-230-130:
This is what the BJP and Congress
win together in the 543-seat Lok Sabha,
as you can see in the table (in the video),
which shows the story of elections since
1991. The rest go to regional parties,
who may or may not be allied with ei-
ther of the two national parties. Thus,
the most important contests are the
ones where the BJP and Congress fight
directly against each other. Each seat
outcome results in a relative difference
of two between them.
For Narendra Modi to continue as
India’s PM, he would like to ensure
that BJP’s 282 tally should not fall be-
low 230, which means Congress’ tally
should be less than 100. For Rahul Gan-
dhi to make an attempt to become PM,
he will need to at least ensure that Con-
gress’ 44 seats go up to more than 130,
which means BJP’s seats should be less
than 200. So, BJP + Congress is 330,
BJP’s target is 230+, and Congress’ tar-
get is 130+.
The number game:
10 crore and 67 crore:
Ten crore is the number of unregis-
tered voters in India. Of these, 7.5 crore
are in the 18-24 age bracket, while the
other 2.5 crore are older voters who
have not registered for a variety of rea-
sons. As you can see in the graphic, the
7.5 crore unregistered youth, form half
of all 18-24 year-olds in India.
These 10 crore missing voters are
part of the 33 crore Indians who do not
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 9
state elections, which tend to lead to
fractured mandates. There have only
been three wave elections in the past
There have only been three wave elections in the
40 years – 1977 (after the Emergency, past 40 years – 1977 (after the Emergency, which
which brought the Janata party to pow-
er), 1984 (after Indira Gandhi’s assas- brought the Janata party to power), 1984 (after
sination, when Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress Indira Gandhi’s assassination, when Rajiv Gandhi’s
swept the nation), and 2014 (where
Narendra Modi’s BJP became the first Congress swept the nation), and 2014 (where
party in 30 years to win a majority).
Parties like waves – it unites voters to
Narendra Modi’s BJP became the first party in 30
create a winning majority. Will the next years to win a majority).
election be a national wave or states
summation?
of smaller groups that is needed for a optimism, a party will use anger, fear,
Big Idea Selling: party to craft a win in a first-past-the- high passion to maximise voter turnout
To create a wave, the election has to post system, where the party getting the in its support base.
be about a couple of big ideas. No one highest number of votes wins. BJP’s se-
really bothers with manifestos any- lectorate was the middle class for a long Ground Game:
more. Which party will have the big time, but it now seems to be transition- India has 10 lakh polling booths,
ideas in this election? Congress record ing its focus to the poor. each with about 1,000 voters, which
in government in the 60 years starting comes to about 250 families. In every
in 1947? BJP’s track record in deliver- The Tactics election, what matters besides the top-
ing ‘acche din’ since 2014? Corruption? Polarisation Game: down media campaign is the ground
Governance? Narendra Modi himself? Elections are about divide-and- game, especially closer to the voting
rule. Like in a marketplace, politicians day. Using data and analytics to identify
(S)electorate Targeting: and their parties like to have voters see supporters, and then getting them out to
To sell its big idea, a party only tar- sharp differentiation, to ensure they vote on election day will be instrumen-
gets a selected set of voters – those who turn up to vote. Hence, the need for po- tal in determining the eventual winner.
they think will support them. So, it is larisation. Caste, community, class – all To make this happen, parties need the
not about the Electorate, but about the can divide the electorate and therefore sales army – the booth workers who can
selectorate. This is the minimal mix unite the selectorate. In the absence of register new voters, persuade the sup-
10 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s sporters and undecideds, and then turn moment for change. Be aware of the I talk about a person named Pandit
them out to vote. games the politicians and their parties Jawaharlal Nehru.
play, and vote wisely – for India’s First The Congress that Nehru inher-
Digital Game: Prosperity Prime Minister. ited was a mixed bag of liberals, con-
The one big change from 2014 is servatives, and radicals. But when he
the amazing growth of smartphones Whoever may be the Prime embarked on building a nation on the
and data connectivity across India. As Minister, here’s is what foundations of rational liberalism and
a result, Facebook and WhatsApp have my opinion on the issue secularism, no one dared oppose him.
become the primary methods for shar- constitute: Because they knew that their seats,
ing content and opinions. You see the Born to an Indian father who values their posts, and positions in the new
explosion of creative content every time western culture and way of life more democratic India were because people
a big news story breaks. More than half than anything, he was brought up as any voted for Nehru, not for the individual
of all voters, and at least one person in kid in the elite class would have been ex- MPs. If Nehru resigned, their own posi-
every household in India, is now digital- pected to be. Such was the extent of the tions were at stake. It used to be called
ly connected via a smartphone. Digital elitism in the household that speaking Nehruvian consensus. Imagine. A per-
India may take time, but India’s Digital in the vernacular was not entertained son who grew as an elite, who spoke and
Election is coming! even on the dining table. The boy goes wrote in English so proficiently (more
So, these are the numbers, strategies on to study at Harrow and later at Cam- than in vernacular), who preached and
and tactics that will decide who will be bridge. On returning to India, inspired propagated those versions of Secular-
India’s next Prime Minister. What hap- by a certain MK Gandhi, he takes up a ism and Socialism that were alien to
pens in the elections will determine our lead in the nationalist movement of the Indians, he, was more popular in the
individual and collective future – now time. His involvement in the movement Indian rural heartland than any conser-
more than ever. India is a young nation. and his image availed the whole country vative of that time.
We have lost a lot of time over the past to see him as the second-in-command
decades in pursuing policies that keep of the struggle against the Raj. So much Why Not Congress-mukth?
taking us away from the path to pros- so that, his chief contender Patel once There is an argument I hear every
perity. This election offers yet another said, ‘The masses, they come for him.’ now and then that the current BJP Gov-
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 11ernment has the mandate of citizens
and hence it should not be a cause of
concern for us because ‘democracy is be-
ing followed.’ I would with due respect
disagree. Democracy is not raw majori-
tarianism. When we say, ‘Democracy is
government by, for and of the people,’ it
means it is by, for, and of all the people.
Not by, for, and of just a majority. Let’s
say, hypothetically, 51% of people vote
to support the banishment of the re-
maining 49% of the citizens of the coun-
try, is it sensible to implement it?
In all this binary game of ‘yes-no’s,
we are forgetting the basic intent of
democracy. Democracy is a practicable
framework of governance that will en-
sure human rights and dignity to all the
citizens, not a tool to assert majoritari-
anism. That is why there is a concept
called Participatory Democracy, where-
in citizens, from time to time, check the
government and assist the government
in catering best to their needs.
And how is this done? Four major
ways: Opposition in the legislature, Ju-
diciary, Media, and protest. And each
of these four is essential. You cannot
say that 3 of them are working fine in
checking the government; hence the
fourth one need not work. My attention
in the current essay will be on showing
the importance of Opposition in Parlia-
ment.
Let’s take the example of one of the
latest bills that the Lok Sabha passed,
the Finance Bill. The Finance Bill made
provisions for private companies to
make as much donation to political par-
ties as they wish, without disclosing the
name of the political party they are do-
nating too. If read carefully, it is easy to
infer that it is cronyism. Which of the
above four checked the passage of this
law? Media was busy with Yogiji’s rule in in terms of the number of seats but the Still Sibal or Tharoor?
UP (which was also important to cover). support it gets from the citizens)? The The example of Nehru that I gave
Social media even less, with BJP trolls fact that the same opposition (which in the beginning of the essay was to ad-
trolling anyone who so much as says had farmers’ support) were able to stall dress the larger point that no seemingly
a thing against BJP and government. the amendment to Land Acquisition Act elite politician is capable of reaching
Judiciary couldn’t have acted in such 2014 shows it is possible. the masses of the rural heartland of the
short a time span. And even if it could, Therefore, it is important that the country. It, however, doesn’t address
the amendment had been made and citizens of the country rely also on the the barriers that lie between Sibal or
it had become a law. So, unless, there opposition for their own good. But for Tharoor and the UPA Candidature for
is a violation of the ‘Basic Structure of that, it is important that the opposi- Prime Ministership in 2019. Let me
the Constitution’, it cannot overturn tion shows itself to be competent and address these as answers to potential
the amendment. And, the Opposition? strong to the citizens. The point I make questions that might arise about his
It was so weak that neither the govern- is, a strong opposition is essential to a candidature.
ment nor the citizens took it any serious- healthy democracy. And the closest to
ly. A majority of the amendments were opposition in India today is Congress. What about Rahul Gandhi?
added one day before the final vote after And the set of leaders who are closest I know that Sonia Gandhi is not
all the discussion had happened and it to making that opposition strong can be that naive a person to allow for some-
was passed through the brute force of Rahul Gandhi, Kapil Sibal and Shashi one other than Rahul or a puppet to be
majority. Could things have been bet- Tharoor. the PM. But this is politics and, as the
ter had opposition been stronger (not cliched statement goes, ‘Anything can
12 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s shappen in Politics.’ Trust me. I am not by people. Politics change according to EU eating our wealth etc. Stories work.
going to go into counterfactuals. Let’s what people want. Status quo in Con- Which is why good politicians are effec-
look at Congress realistically. The nar- gress is highly unlikely. Whether I am tive storytellers.
rative in Congress so far has been, ‘We right or wrong, time will tell. Congress too had a story to tell. A
get votes because people vote for the de- story of ‘New Possibilities’ (1950s), then
scendants of Nehru and Indira.’ In es- What does Congress has to a story of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan’ (Sas-
sence, the brand of Congress was what offer to the country anyway? tri), then a story of ‘Garibi Hatao’ (1971),
was giving MPs votes. But has it been If an alternative to Modi is the only then a story of ‘Vote for Government
working? Did it work in Bihar 2011? thing Congress has to offer, I have no that works’ (1980), a story of ‘Sikhs are
In UP 2012? In India in 2014? In UP doubt that it’ll not work. I don’t say our enemies’ (1984), a story of ‘Rama
2017? Don’t accuse me of being selec- Congress party doesn’t have an ideol- Rajya’ (1991). They worked. Now, the
tive. Of course, I didn’t mention Bihar ogy. Its ideology is of Liberalism, Sec- dominant Congress story is ‘BJP is anti-
2016 because it was Nitish-Laloo’s win ularism, and Socialism. But these are Minority’. This story has no robustness.
rather than the brand of Congress’. In textbook concepts. Even a middle-class It is not a philosophy, rather a counter
the above-mentioned elections, Rahul Indian, leave alone rural peasant, would argument. So, yes, the Congress has to
Gandhi was the star campaigner. And not understand these. You need to have literally go back to its drawing board.
clearly, it didn’t work in party’s favor. a narrative. The world sustains on sto- And start making a story that will con-
There is a high possibility of change ries. Stories of the holocaust, stories of vey the textbook concepts that it stands
in the leadership. A political party can China stealing our jobs, stories of Mexi- for, a story that is robust in itself.
never be owned by a person. It is owned cans polluting our country, stories of When Tharoor said that Rahul Gan-
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 13dhi might not have a conviction but he Gandhi, 53, would remain the Con- the NDA fold. As if to squelch grow-
wants people to tell him what they want gress’ wild card. But by 2024 playing ing murmurs of Nitish’s bromance
to be done, I found myself in amaze- it may be too little, too late. with Modi, the Bihar chief minister
ment. Surely, Tharoor knows better Other parties in the Opposition declared: “The Central government’s
than that in politics. recognise the danger of a second suc- actions are creating fear among mi-
cessive victory for Modi. It explains norities. The Centre is deliberately
What if Sibal or Tharoor the near-hysteria the Prime Minister’s weakening federal power of the states.
becomes Manmohan Singh demonetization scheme has caused. Some people talk about ghar wapsi
II? Only Bihar Chief Minister Nitish and cow protection and are spreading
Well, everything is contingent on Kumar and Odisha Chief Minister hatred. But we are working to achieve
that not happening. If they remains Naveen Patnaik among Opposition our goals and will continue to do it in
faithful to the family, like they does leaders have grasped the full political Bihar.”
now, I take my proposition back. But ramifications of Modi’s war on black Despite the rhetoric, Nitish has two
I am sure that if they were to become money. They know that the economic problems. First, the erratic behaviour
a Prime Minister, both would assert of his coalition partner Lalu Prasad
themself well enough to be the Prime Yadav and his family. The return of
Minister and not a Principal Secretary jungle Raj in Bihar has damaged Nit-
of 10, Janpath Road. Both has seen Nitish Kumar, for ish’s reputation for good governance
and been involved in more politics example, has used built methodically over two decades.
than Manmohan Singh. Second, Nitish has sensed the nation-
morality in governance al mood on demonetization. Aligning
So, Modi-mukth Bharat? to burnish his political with those who oppose action against
I am a full-time Capitalist and a black money carries a huge political
part-time Conservative. And I am career. He has legislated risk.
a vegetarian too. So, I don’t have Unlike Mamata Banerjee, Maya-
qualms with the current regime per- against benami properties wati and Arvind Kejriwal who react
sonally. Yet, I care about the personal in Bihar and banned emotionally to events, Nitish has a
liberties of everyone to be concerned cold, clinical approach to power. But,
about the developments in the coun- liquor. The JD(U) he too knows that a victory for Modi
try today. The discourse has become
more and more polarized (because of
pointedly broke ranks with in 2019 will end any realistic chance
he has of being Prime Minister in a fu-
lack of stories from one of the sides) the rest of the Opposition ture national mahagathbandhan.
and the authority of the government Modi, of course, has problems of
is being asserted at an alarming mag-
over demonetization. his own in the run-up to 2019. He has
nitude. I don’t want a Modi-mukht Nitish is even talking to to make demonetization work on the
Bharat. I rather prefer a Bharat where ground. Moral victories can vanish if
the government doesn’t set precedents Finance Minister Arun the poor continue to suffer due to a
that might increase the authoritarian-
ism. For which we need a counter-
Jaitley about a joint continued shortage of cash.
Modi also has to cross the hurdle of
narrative (not counter-argument, we initiative to forge a digital- the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections
already have one). Sibal or Tharoor’s
ascent is not going to be easy. It is dif-
pay economy. in 2017. Many realignments among
the Opposition will take place after
ficult. But what that is good is easy? In UP. The importance Modi attaches to
the end, my nation is bigger than any benefits — and these could be consid- the state is highlighted by the number
of these politicians. Yet, my nation is erable — are dwarfed by the political of rallies he is holding there months in
the people in it, not a landmass with implications. advance of the poll.
boundary. In a country where poverty in Modi also has to recalibrate ties
Drawing battlelines for 2019: Up- varying degrees afflicts nearly half-a- with his allies. The Shiv Sena is a
coming Lok Sabha election will define billion people, the emotional appeal prickly customer, though somewhat
future of Indian politics of punishing bla*ck money hoarders sobered by the BJP’s recent victories
Though the 2019 Lok Sabha elec- and tax-evading millionaires has irre- in local elections in Maharashtra. The
tion is more than two years away, ev- sistible moral appeal. forthcoming BMC poll will decide
ery political calculation now revolves Nitish Kumar, for example, has how the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance holds
around it. used morality in governance to bur- up in 2019. Meanwhile, other NDA
Make no mistake: 2019 repre- nish his political career. He has leg- allies like SAD in Punjab, LJP in Bi-
sents an existential moment for sever- islated against benami properties in har and TDP in Andhra Pradesh have
al parties. If Prime Minister Narendra Bihar and banned liquor. The JD(U) weakened electorally since their wins
Modi leads the BJP to victory in 2019, pointedly broke ranks with the rest of in 2014. They will need to be whipped
it could spell the end of the dynastic the Opposition over demonetization. into shape.
Congress. Rahul Gandhi will be 54 in Nitish is even talking to Finance Min- Modi and his opponents both know
2024. He would by then have spent ister Arun Jaitley about a joint initia- that the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha
20 unsuccessful years in politics. So- tive to forge a digital-pay economy. election will define the contours of In-
nia Gandhi will be 77 and no longer a None of this suggests that Nitish dian politics for a generation.
key factor in Indian politics. Priyanka Kumar’s JD(U) is about to return to
14 November2017 O p i n i on E x p r e s sBATTLEGROUND 2019
Akhilesh-Mayawati Alliance Has Downside Too. So, it’s
advantage BJP?
Mihir Swarup Sharma to re-evaluate their perceptions of the be explained away as reflecting state-
T
party’s prospects in 2019. It is difficult specific sentiment. In UP and Bihar, it
he comprehensive defeat of the to understate what these losses mean was assumed, the party continued to be
Bharatiya Janata Party in two for a party dependent on a sweep of the in the ascendant. But that is clearly no
parliamentary by-elections in north and west of India to retain its ma- longer true. It has now lost multiple Lok
Uttar Pradesh - Gorakhpur and jority in the Lok Sabha. It follows the Sabha constituencies in areas it should
Phulpur - as well as one in Araria, Bi- BJP’s humiliating defeats in Ajmer and have won - not just UP, Bihar and Ra-
har - has understandably caused many Alwar a few weeks ago - but those could jasthan, but also Madhya Pradesh and
16 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s sPunjab. In fact, it is perilously close to However, I’m not yet going to mark out of 80. If the alliance frays, the BJP
losing its majority. the BJP as an underdog in the north should get over 60.
So, yes, nobody should assume that and west just yet. Here are eight rea- Even if the SP-BSP alliance stays
2019 is a simple win for Narendra Modi sons why we should assume Modi and together, it is extremely risky. Modi
led BJP. Repeating 282 was always go- Amit Shah can still turn it around: is more than capable of redefining the
ing to be tough, even with Modi’s pop- The Samajwadi Party’s victories in narrative in short order. In fact, a unit-
ularity still strong. But I at least had Gorakhpur and Phulpur required unity ed opposition makes it easier for Modi
always assumed that 235 seats plus/ between the SP and the Bahujan Samaj to claim that everyone else is corrupt,
minus 35, was the BJP’s likely perfor- Party. While the alliance held on the terrified, and hypocritical - and that
mance in 2019. Some observers now ground for this victory, such alliances he alone is the principled, honest sav-
think that is optimistic. After all, you are naturally fragile. For good reason, iour India needs. Arithmetic - adding
can’t lose practically every by-election Mayawati distrusts and dislikes Mu- up the BSP and SP vote shares - does
in the north and west for years and con- layam Singh Yadav. And the Yadavs not always trump chemistry. And Modi,
tinue to be seen as the favourite. It’s in- are as capable of self-sabotage as the through his ability to cook up a narra-
credibly tough for an incumbent party Gandhis. A repeat of this strong alli- tive in his lab, is India’s pre-eminent
to lose by-elections, and yet the BJP ance across UP in 2019 could give a new political chemist. Opposition unity ac-
seems to be able to do so with ease. maha-gathbandan in excess of 50 seats tually makes his job more straightfor-
So, yes, nobody should
assume that 2019 is a
simple win for Narendra
Modi led BJP. Repeating
282 was always going
to be tough, even with
Modi’s popularity still
strong. But I at least had
always assumed that
235 seats plus/minus
35, was the BJP’s likely
performance in 2019.
ward. He is at his best when pretending
to be an underdog fighting against dark
and overwhelming forces.
This election suggests that a BSP-
SP coalition should not be considered
as automatically being in a losing posi-
tion. This is actually bad news for any
coalition negotiations going forward.
The only thing that could have rec-
onciled Mayawati to dealing with the
family that humiliated and terrorised
her in the 1990s is a sense of imminent
disaster for her party and the Bahujan
movement. The possibility of victory
makes it, paradoxically, harder for her
to compromise.
For Modi and Shah, this defeat is not
as problematic as it may appear. You
might argue that any defeat discolours
their aura of invincibility, so important
in the run-up to 2019. But the Prime
Minister himself was not the person at
risk in the UP by-elections. In Bihar, it
was Nitish Kumar, and anything that
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 17weakens a coalition partner is not en- gaining power when it comes to ticket under Adityanath which appears to be tirely unwelcome to the BJP. More im- distribution in 2019. Shah and Modi are real is largely because his government portantly, in UP it was Chief Minister free to distribute tickets based on their is correctly seen as an upper-caste raj. Yogi Adityanath whose credibility was winnability criteria. Yogi samrajya is Thakur samrajya. His on on the line. Adityanath was supposed The notion that seats in the Hindi famed encounter policy consists of to be able to deliver Gorakhpur at least belt in 2019 are wide open will encour- Thakur cops going after OBC or Muslim with ease. Phulpur, while not tradition- age a plethora of independents, vote- suspects. His ascendancy has led Dal- ally BJP territory, should also have been cutters, and other political entrepre- its to feel even more unsafe than under manageable. Yet the Adityanath name neurs to throw their hat in the ring. Such the SP, underlined by widely-circulated was not enough, nor were his last-min- chaos inevitably favours the large force reports of the vandalism of Ambedkar ute rallies, over a dozen of them, suffi- with greater monetary resources. There statues. The BJP’s candidate choice cient to turn the tide against the BSP-SP is no question that in 2019, this better- for Gorakhpur in particular hardly did alliance. It is an open secret that Modi resourced force will be the BJP, by a anything to dispel the notion that it was and Shah distrust Adityanath. That is factor of five, perhaps 10. Chaos means a savarna raj party. But there is still a one reason why this defeat is not en- horse-trading, and the Modi-Shah BJP year to go for 2019 if the elections are tirely unwelcome to them. It is also true is by far the better horse-trader. not brought forward. That’s more than that now Adityanath has reduced bar- In UP, the BJP’s loss of popularity enough time for Modi, India’s most po- 18 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s s
litically successful OBC politician, to and the BJP’s panna pramukhs have Eight reasons are more than enough
persuade non-Yadav OBCs and even lost their potency as a turnout-genera- to reserve judgment about the BJP’s
many Dalits that his government is not tion machine. They just weren’t put in fortunes in the north and west next
savarna raj. Skilful candidate selection overdrive for this election. year. If I were to add a ninth, it is this:
will help. Finally, there is a noticeable divide Modi as Prime Minister is more than
Both the Phulpur and Gorakhpur here - as in the Rajasthan by-polls and capable of using the office to take the
elections were noticeable for extreme- in the Gujarat Assembly elections - be- sort of drastic decision, like demon-
ly low turnout. This is a sign of many tween urban and rural voters. Rural etisation, that the opposition is simply
things, urban discontent with the gov- voters are clearly more dissatisfied with unable to respond to. Yes, there will be
ernment being high on the list. If it is the BJP. But stepped-up efforts to woo some inevitable attrition in the BJP’s
the case that low turnout favours the them through waivers, transfers, higher seat count from 2014. Yes, Modi’s gov-
BSP’s committed voters, and high turn- MSPs (minimum support price) and so ernment is losing popularity. But Modi
out means more Modi-leaning swing on might moderate their discontent. In- and his party are still clear favourites
voters are going to the polls, then we deed, if this year’s monsoon is particu- in 2019.
can assume the 2019 election will be larly good for production, a great deal of
high turnout. Nothing so far suggests agrarian distress will be alleviated just (Writer is a fellow at the
that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in time for the 2019 campaign. Observer Research Foundation.)
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 19Testing Times
The First litmus political challenge for Modi and Shah emerges
from Akhilesh Mayawati reunion in UP
Rajeev Sharma & Ashok Upadhayay and Meghalaya too, the latter being the the party’s impressive scoreline was 71
I
22nd BJP-ruled state even though the out of 80 seats in the 2014 general elec-
t doesn’t need rocket science to saffron party won only two seats in the tions, and 325 of 403 in Assembly polls
say that the BJP’s 3-0 loss in three 60-member Assembly. last year.
Lok Sabha by-polls - Gorakhpur The setback is all the more severe for The by-poll results, particularly
and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP as Gorakhpur and Phulpur are from Uttar Pradesh, are the best news
and Araria in Bihar - is an alarm bell for no ordinary Lok Sabha constituencies so far for the Opposition which has
the saffron party and Prime Minister and were represented by chief minister been travelling from one electoral de-
Narendra Modi ahead of the next gen- Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav feat to another in the past four years
eral elections, due by May 2019. Prasad Maurya respectively. with just three exceptions - Delhi, Bi-
The BJP’s triple loss takes away Since the Modi tsunami in 2014, har and Punjab in chronological order.
the sheen from its emphatic win in the the BJP hasn’t witnessed such a poll (Just for the record, the BJP won one -
Northeast, particularly Tripura. Its al- debacle. It’s all the more worrisome for Bhabhua - of the two Assembly by-polls
lies formed governments in Nagaland the BJP as it comes from a state where in Bihar. The Jehanabad Assembly seat
20 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s swent to the RJD.)
The UP experiment - Bahujan Sa-
maj Party (BSP) supporting Samajwadi
The setback is all the more severe for the BJP as
Party (SP) - has given the “khul ja sim Gorakhpur and Phulpur are no ordinary Lok Sabha
sim” code to the Opposition for enter-
ing the Alibaba caves in 2019. After Bi-
constituencies and were represented by chief
har, the UP by-polls have conclusively minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav
proven that the Modi juggernaut can be
finally stopped if the Opposition joins Prasad Maurya respectively.
hands and replicates Bihar-type grand
alliance in key states. support to the SP candidates at the elev- can afford to be more optimistic that her
Here’s how the by-poll results would enth hour, first time since 1993 when the political winter is finally getting over.
impact key stakeholders. two parties were in the same boat. She
said it was not a long term policy which Akhilesh Yadav
Mayawati would be determined by the outcome of Another UP satrap, Akhilesh Ya-
The biggest gainer is Mayawati and this experiment. Her new-found bon- dav, also has reasons to grin from ear
her BSP, the party which couldn’t even homie with the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP to ear. It’s not just because he has now
open its account in the 2014 general should also improve prospects for her taken his Samajwadi Party’s LS tally to
elections and managed to win just 17 Rajya Sabha seat. seven and reduced BJP’s to 69, but also
seats in last year’s Assembly polls. This The “Bua-Bhatija” slogans that rent because the SP’s spectacular win would
is the first time in six years (her cycle the air in Gorakhpur and Phulpur today go a long way in boosting the morale of
of electoral losses began in the 2012 UP may well become the template for 2019 the party cadres. The SP victory is like
Assembly polls) when Mayawati has general elections. Mayawati has reasons winning a crucial league cricket match
reasons to smile. She announced her to see light at the end of the tunnel and before the knockout stage of the tour-
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 2122 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s s
nament which improves the net run
rate and bolsters the team’s prospects
in upcoming tight contests. Besides, it
would inevitably improve bargaining
chips for the SP in allocation of seats
when SP-BSP-Congress grand alliance
is being sewed up ahead of the general
elections.
Yogi Adityanath
Conspiracy theorists If Mayawati is the biggest gainer,
then Yogi Adityanath is surely the sor-
may say that PM est loser. The by-poll losses would dent
Modi himself crafted his image, particularly Gorakhpur, his
well nurtured and nourished constitu-
and choreographed ency which he has won for past five
the BJP’s by-poll consecutive terms. Since he became the
UP CM - after some combative postur-
defeat to clip Yogi ings with the BJP and intense lobbying
with the RSS when the Modi-Amit Shah
Adityanath’s wings, combine had virtually decided to name
it’s highly unlikely union minister Manoj Sinha for the
CM’s post - he had emerged as the BJP’s
that a shrewd new poster boy and poll mascot who
politician like Modi was increasingly being used to address
election rallies across the country.
would consciously Conspiracy theorists may say that
PM Modi himself crafted and choreo-
score a self goal when graphed the BJP’s by-poll defeat to clip
general elections Yogi Adityanath’s wings, it’s highly un-
likely that a shrewd politician like Modi
are inching closer. would consciously score a self goal when
However, Modi general elections are inching closer.
However, Modi supporters would have
supporters would a valid argument if they were to point
have a valid argument to the fact that Modi didn’t campaign in
the by-polls.
if they were to point The grapevine also has it that all is
not well between the RSS and the Modi-
to the fact that Modi Shah team. If that were indeed be so as
didn’t campaign in there is no smoke without fire, it means
all the more trouble for Yogi, and his
the by-polls. problems would compound during the
next general elections. After all, he him-
self had recently dubbed the UP by-polls
as “a dress rehearsal” for the next gener-
al elections, a remark which he must be
ruing now. Well, loose lips sink ships.
In conclusion, it won’t be improper
to say that Modi’s BJP would be really
worried if Adityanath’s remark - that
these bypolls are “dress rehearsal” be-
fore the 2019 general elections - were
incidental or prophetic.
The BJP will have to change its elec-
tion strategy in a big way. The BJP’s de-
feat in its stronghold and Hindu bastion
poses a sensitive question - whether the
Hindutva card is probably past its ex-
piry date? It’s an ideal situation for the
Rahul Gandhi-led Congress to reinvent
itself, first in the forthcoming Karnata-
ka elections and then in Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh this year-end.
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 23Here’s what the drubbing Union ministers and several party MPs ers have voted for the Samajwadi Party,
means for the BJP. and MLAs were deployed by the BJP for which was her bitter rival until a few
1) Going by how the BJP has been canvassing in the two constituencies. days ago.
projecting Yogi Adityanath as its star And yet it lost the two seats. 7) The Congress party fielded Su-
campaigner in poll-bound states, it 4) It was after 23 years that archri- reetha Kareem from Gorakhpur, and
seems the party has been trying hard vals Samawadi Party and the Bahujan Manish Mishra for Phulpur, but failed
to strengthen the “Yogi model”. While Samaj Party reached an electoral un- miserably. The party must examine if
the saffron party was banking on him derstanding, which seems to have got it wants to follow a go-it-alone policy
to help win elections in other states, the people’s approval. Although Yogi or go for a grand alliance on the lines
Adityanath couldn’t even retain his Adityanath has called it sheer oppor- of 2015 Bihar’s mahagathbandhan.
home turf. Defeat in Gorakhpur has tunism, it cannot be ruled out that the There are two choices for the Congress
dented his vote-gathering capabilities new combine may led to major changes - either expand its own base, or stop
to a great extent. in UP’s political scenario and may also Modi.
2) Since 1989, the BJP had not lost prove to be a game-changer ahead of 8) Today’s election results have also
the Gorkhapur Lok Sabha seat. Al- the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. raised serious questions on the Modi
though the party’s electoral fortune has 5) In the last Lok Sabha elections, and Yogi model of governance. The
seen several ups and down, Gorkhapur, the BJP managed to win 71 of 80 seats fact that the BJP CM and his deputy
until today, remained a saffron citadel. on its own in UP (ally Apna Dal also won couldn’t manage to retain their home
The BJP lost its stronghold despite the the two seats where it was contesting, turfs despite being in power in the state
party’s popularity at its peak and the increasing the saffron party’s tally to as well as at the Centre, calls for some
chief priest of the “Nath Panth” temple 73) with around 43 per cent vote share. serious introspection. While BJP presi-
in Gorakhpur occupying the CM’s seat. This was dubbed as a tsunami because dent Amit Shah claims that “achhe din”
The fact that the voters chose to go with the Opposition was fragmented. Had promised by the party has arrived, it
the Samajwadi Party, will force the BJP the BSP (with a 19.77 per cent vote seems the people in these constituen-
and its chief minister to do some seri- share), SP (with 22.35 per cent) and the cies think otherwise.
ous introspection. Congress (with 7.53 per cent) fought 9) There were speculations of a BJP
Twitter Ads info and privacy the elections together, their vote share hand behind former Phulpur MP Atiq
3) Winning Gorakhpur was a mat- would have been 49.65 per cent. This Ahmed, who is currently lodged in jail,
ter of prestige for the BJP as it has shows that a united Opposition could joining the poll fray. The BJP report-
been a bastion of chief minister Yogi have stopped the Modi’s juggernaut edly tried to divide the minority votes
Adityanath, who has won from that even in the 2014 in Uttar Pradesh. by fielding him as an independent can-
seat for five consecutive times. Yogi The message for the Opposition is is didate. It seems the voters have seen
Adityanath had secured over 50 per clear. Get united to stop the saffron tsuna- though the conspiracy and the electoral
cent vote share in the last three elec- mi, or remain divided and get drowned. ploy failed to work for the BJP.
tions, and has campaigned aggressively 6) A dedicated vote bank of Dalits 10) The BJP needs to do a seri-
in this by-poll. He addressed as many ensures that Mayawati is capable of ous rethink if it wants to fight back in
as 16 public meetings - something, local transferring votes seamlessly to its al- 2019. It needs to focus on governance,
party leaders claim, he never did even liance partner. It doesn’t matter who go for another social engineering and
when he himself was contesting earlier. she is supporting. And, in this election try to bring in smaller parties within
Over a dozen state ministers, two again she has shown how her support- its fold.
24 April 2018 O p i n i on E x p r e s sWhat’s Modi’s plan for
India after 2019?
Does Mr Modi have a roadmap beyond the victory post-2019?
S Nihal Singh
H
ow has the Republic fared
with Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi steering the
country towards the general
election of 2019? It has been a mixed
record, with the willingness to take de-
cisions trumped by ideological blinkers
and a propensity to think of the virtues
of Ram Rajya.
The Sangh Parivar leadership has
not quite reconciled itself regarding
how far to take the concept of Hindutva
in ruling a heterogeneous and multi-
ethnic country. And Mr Modi has to en-
gage in battle with the Sangh Parivar to
win his hand in the cause of governance
each time.
Two major decisions
merit attention —
the sudden move for
demonetisation of a
huge chunk of our
currency and the hasty
introduction of the
Goods and Services Tax.
Two major decisions merit attention
— the sudden move for demonetisation
of a huge chunk of our currency and the
hasty introduction of the Goods and
Services Tax.
The first decision was Mr Modi’s
own prescription for the evils of black
money and it has badly misfired, slow-
ing down the economy, while the GST,
an essential measure that earlier Con-
gress governments had failed to bring
in, was imposed somewhat post-haste.
The demonetisation scheme was es-
sentially Mr Modi’s idea, and although
he talked it up as a kind of poor man’s
revenge against the rich, the poor suf-
fered the most. There has been no sug-
gestion of apology on Mr Modi’s behalf
on slowing down the economy and its
O p i n i on E x p r e s s April 2018 25You can also read
