The BJP has done it! Winning four out of five states, with the biggest and most critical Uttar Pradesh victory creating history is an overwhelming reason to celebrate Holi a week before. The ‘gulal’ has turned saffron. Celebrations by the Hindutva party in Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur too have clearly dampened the festive season for the Opposition, particularly the grand old party, Congress, which has been washed out, relegated to two States.

The fifth State, Punjab, has been hit by the AAP tsunami, making its chief Arvind Kejriwal eye the national canvas more with his stunning victory. Undeniably, the results are going to have a far-reaching impact. The big question is whether Prime Minister Modi will be proved right again when he hopes “political pundits, who did not think much of the party’s 2019 (Lok Sabha) win saying it had already been decided by the 2017 UP results, will now have the courage to say that the 2022 (UP) results have decided the 2024 (Lok Sabha) results.”

Indeed, Uttar Pradesh has not only endorsed Modi’s policies but as the State’s star Yogi Adityanath put it “the people have buried the politics of caste and religion” and “blessed the politics of development and good governance…”

While many would prefer to disagree, it is crystal clear it turned out to be a bipolar fight, between the BJP and SP, wherein while the latter under Akhilesh Yadav did extremely well it couldn’t turn the tide. And with Yogi literally ‘bulldozing’ the BSP and Congress, among others, Akhilesh has the sole task of putting up strong opposition, taking on the challenge of further increasing the party’s seat and vote share. Will he be able to do run the ‘bulldozer’ in 2024?

For the BSP is out in the wilderness, with its worst performance of a solitary seat, after Behenji having ruled the State in 2007. Her giving an explanation: BSP supporters voted for BJP as they feared ‘if SP returned to power, UP would be thrown back to jungle raj and goonda raj’ and that the Muslims supported SP, won’t have any takers. The writing is there on the wall for all to see and they need to read it correctly.

Advertisements | 5E For Success