Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Alarm bells” (January 3). Evidently, the crushing defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the by-elections held in Rajasthan is a manifestation of the people’s disenchantment with the Vasundhara Raje Government. The two lok Sabha constituencies, besides an Assembly seat, that went to the polls in Rajasthan are geographically dispersed.
Therefore, the contest had the billing of a semi-final before Assembly elections later this year. One was Alwar, the Hindutva crowd’s latest laboratory for communal polarisation where two Muslims were lynched to death and a dozen gau-raksha police stations have come up.
Success has many fathers and the Congress’ win is no different. While some say Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s legwork of over four years has paid off, the Karni Sena claims they defeated Vasundhara Raje while many would like to believe that the Congress got the caste combination right.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has expectedly termed the Rajasthan verdict as the beginning of the end of the BJP. He is entitled to his view but it is still not clear whether the voter’s mood has irreversibly soured or the by-election jolt was a wake-up call.