Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who polarized India, had surrounded this election around himself. However, he also had challenges was an anti-incumbency factor. Many Indians had to suffer a lot from the demonetization. Although the government was claiming about demonetization, it will be successful in getting the declared property out. But it is clear from the election results that common people do not consider Modi responsible for all this. Narendra Modi has consistently said in his speeches that he needs more than five years to rectify the disorder of 60 years. Common people have decided to give them more time.
Many also consider Modi to be the messiah to solve their problems. According to a survey by Delhi’s think tank center for the study of development societies (CSDS), every third voter of BJP says that if Modi was not a prime ministerial candidate, he would have given his vote to another party. Actually, Mr. Modi has proved to be the most popular leader of India after Indira Gandhi.
Milan Vaishnav, Senior fellow of Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International peace, says, “From this you can guess that this vote is for Modi more than BJP. This election was all about Modi’s leadership.”
Also, Dr. Vaishnav explains,
“There is no question that Narendra Modi is the most popular leader of country after Indira Gandhi. At the present time there is no position to challenge him at national level.”
One of the reasons for his victory in 2014 was people’s displeasure with Congress party surrounded by allegations of corruption. But the victory won in 2014 is a victory for Modi. He has become the first leader since 1971 to have given single majority for two consecutive terms.
Mahesh Rangarajan, Prof. of History at Ashoka University, says: “This is a victory for Modi and his idea of a new India.“
Modi’s image has become bigger than this cadre- based party. He has become a symbol of hope and aspirations for many. Modi and his highly trusted aide Amit Shah, together transformed the party. Gujarat is Modi’s home state and BJP’s stronghold. At the same time, in Madhya Pradesh, BJP has aligned with the local party of Jyotiraditya Sindhya.
Twenty years ago, when BJP came to power under leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, there was a coalition government and there was a challenge before the BJP to run a stable government. Whereas BJP itself is in majority in leadership of Modi. No one is in the position of Modi and Amit Shah and they do aggressive politics.
The Congress had to face defeat for the second time in a row. Congress has lagged behind the BJP and is going through the most difficult phase. Uttar Pradesh is the state in India that sends more MPs to parliament than any other state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has repeated its 2014 performance here where it won 71 out of 80 seats. This time it was expected that the BJP would face a tough challenge from grand alliance of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, but this did not happen.
In front of Modi’s Charisma and chemistry, the social arithmetic of both political parties proved to be a failure. Earlier, it was believed that both these parties have their own core vote bank, but this trust has been broken. It has also been proved that caste-based mathematics can be broken.
“Indian democracy has taught the world the beauty and competitiveness of its governing system for a prolonged period. But Modi administration is remapping the Indian political map which some called the rise of nationalism, while others called it the rise of patriotism in this era of populism.”- Nilantha Ilangamuwa.