The Opposition is still hoping the demonetisation move will brighten their electoral chances. It hasn’t happened in local body elections, where the BJP has done well
The stunning victory registered by the BJP in the Maharashtra civic body polls has reinstated the need to alter the political narrative set off against the demonetisation drive of the Modi Government. The trend of back-to-back BJP wins in the local elections and by-polls of various States and Union Territories, indicate a groundswell of support for the move, despite the Opposition's diatribe of outrage and misinformation.
The BJP, winning eight out of 10 municipalities and coming a close second to the Shiv Sena in the Brihanmumbai Muncicipal Corporation (BMC) hardly comes as a surprise to those who have been watching the party surge, even in States where it was politically non-existent till a few months ago.
Beginning from Gujarat, the Patel reservation issue and the anti-Dalit propaganda notwithstanding, the BJP swept the local elections in the State, putting the fears of anti-incumbency behind. The party won 41 out of 44 seats in Vapi (Valsad district), 27 out of 28 seats in Kanakpur-Kansad (Surat) municipalities, while Congress was reduced to single digits.
The positive trend in favour of the BJP continued in the first and second phase of Maharashtra civic body polls. Emerging on top of the electoral chart, the BJP further consolidated its position in the State and demystified the fears around its political fate in the wake of demonetisation. One of the severest critiques of the Prime Minister's move, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), stood last in the first phase.
Since the lok Sabha poll in 2014, the Congress has been on a steady decline. States, wherein the BJP was a political non-entity and the Congress was an option against the strong regional parties, are also seeing a retrenchment of the Congress's electoral presence and gradual acceptance of the BJP.
Even the by-poll results emerging from the North-East, that had largely been left behind in the developmental process due to its difficult geography, insurgencies and years of neglect in New Delhi's policy circles, showed immense solidarity with the Prime Minister's bold decision to get the nation rid of black money. The people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh choose the BJP in the by-polls, while, in Tripura, the party gained ground with a vote-surge of 20 per cent — coming second in the left stronghold.
In State after State and election after election, the popularity of the Modi Government's groundbreaking decision to overhaul the system through demonetisation, has been put to test, and each time the people have responded enthusiastically.
Undeterred by the Opposition's ungrounded aakrosh towards the ‘note ban’, the lotus has been in full bloom in the local elections of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Faridabad, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
With the never experienced before resounding victories of the BJP in Odisha and Maharashtra, the people's verdict on the Modi administration is loud and clear. As citizens, they are willing to bear intermittent inconveniences if the leadership is sincere in its resolve to cleanse the system.
In Delhi, people are, on one hand, feeling cheated and utterly disenchanted with the habitual lying and conniving Aam Aadmi Party. On the other, they are greatly enthused by the steadfast efforts being made by the Modi-led BGovernment to fight the menace of corruption and black money. The effect of the political momentum in favour of the BJP in the country, will also reflect in the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi election in the capital.
The Congress is seen obliterating into oblivion within the electoral space. The grand old party, headed by the ‘yet to mature’ 46-year old Gandhi heir, has failed to shed its image of a party synonymous with unbridled loot of national resources, jobless growth and politics of dole-outs. Indeed, it is unfathomable for the Opposition, that despite the obvious difficulties people faced in the wake of the ‘note ban’, they are increasingly choosing the BJP. In the Uttar Pradesh poll, the Akhilesh Yadav-Rahul Gandhi alliance is relying heavily on the demonetisation heat to brighten its prospects. As the recent results have shown in the recent weeks, it is a tricky path for the Opposition to tread.
(The writer is leader of Opposition, Delhi Assembly)