Where Modi Did N't Rule The Roost

[Sentiosys]

Yes it was a strong current – the sweep and depth of which could not be anticipated. The hype around the expected debacle of the UPA; particularly the Congress, now appears very minute as it was not a simple electoral debacle but a massacre. It is time for mourning at 24, Akbar road, New Delhi and Rahul Gandhi can while away his time in reading Harry Potter. Though Modi’s win was a foregone conclusion none including him could foresee its magnitude. The din generated by electronic media and social media is unlikely to die down even after a month and singing paeans to the one man show will continue. The implications of the results are so frightening that even Left intellectuals and anti- fascist crusaders are also exhibiting caution in their reaction. The fact that Modi won 282 seats on his own seems to relegate some important facets of this election to background. Hence it is time we reduced the volume of noisy celebrations and analyze some important facts that reveal some vulnerable points of the BJP.

There is no denying the fact that Modi was everywhere; from Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Vadodara to Arunachal. His presence was felt throughout the land like no other non Congress leader did so far. It is a different matter that V.P.Singh did it in a more subtle manner twenty five years ago. Despite the much talked about wave and media’s ranting that ‘Modi wave engulfed India’ there are huge tracts which the warrior of Sanghparivar failed to conquer. There is some element of geography involved in it. West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala shunned saffron, though the residuary state of AP accepted it in a small measure. 

The irrepressible Didi went hammer and tongs against Modi. She exceeded her brief when she said that she would have arrested Modi. Much before the polls she made it clear that she treated the BJP as a non-entity. The enlightened Bengalis stood behind her like a rock. Naveen Patnaik in Odisha emerged stronger than ever. He snapped ties with the BJP in 2008 and since then scored two emphatic consecutive wins. This time around he did not even entertain the idea of aligning with Modi.The Oriyas once again reposed their faith in their suave Chief Minister and gave just two seats to the invader from Gujarat. In AP Chandra Babu Naidu (CBN) struck a deal with the BJP in the most ignominious manner. He flew down to places wherever Modi held meetings and pleaded for an alliance. 

No regional party leader mortgaged her or his honour in pleasing Modi as CBN did. KCR in Telangana unequivocally denounced communal politics and ruled out any truck with Modi though the latter’s victory was almost certain. He registered an impressive victory.Jagan in his characteristic style defied Modi and declared that he would think of only post poll alliances. Eventually he lost narrowly. The impact of Modi in AP was marginal. The mercurial Amma thundered against the disproportionately glorified Gujarat model of development. She made it a contest between the lady (herself) and Modi ignoring DMK and others. Consequently she won a resounding victory leaving crumbs to the BJP led alliance. Kerala as usually continues to elude the BJP despite the presence of a strong RSS cadre. 

Strong willed regional leaders like Mamata Benarjee, Naveen Patnaik, KCR, Jagan (winning 65 assembly and 8 Lok Sabha seats against all oddsis no small achievement) and Jayalalitha have proved that with a good cause and people friendly policies in their armour, regional leaders can halt the march of national parties. NTR and Farooq Abdullah did it in 1984.The once invincible Hindi heartland leaders like Lalu, Mulayam, Nitish and Mayawati miserably failed in applying breaks to the Modi juggernaut, leave alone stopping it; whereas the eastern and southern satrapshalted it with confidence and power.We can now draw parallels with Kharavela’s campaign against Magadha, Kakatiyas resistance to Khiljis, Chola’s foray into Gangetic plains and Pulakesin’s stunning victory against Harsha.