WHAT IT TELLS ABOUT NATION’S POLITICS AND SOCIETY..
Given the fact that the broad issues that the Bihar elections are pinned on revolve around caste, religion and community arithmetic, the outcome of the polls will be interesting to watch for how they would affect the further political discourse in the country on some issues doing rounds in the national consciousness.
— The outcome will convey the message that the situation is not as bad as is being projected – that the ‘growing culture of intolerance’ or ‘strengthening fringe voices’, though disturbing, are not disturbing enough to affect the electoral mindsets yet – something that is the primary or the only electoral concern of every political outfit.
— Or there has been no such atmosphere on the ground expect some standalone incidents and what has been presented so far on this front, is basically a splendid political imagination and propaganda.
— That, BJP’s humiliating loss in the Delhi assembly polls was more an aberration than a trend – and that BJP is performing well on its promises. The party would then emphatically like to convey that Delhi’s loss was basically due to ‘lock stock and barrel’ transfer of Congress votes to Aam Aadmi Party and not due to its ‘alleged’ non-performance in Delhi through the Lieutenant-Governor’s office or due to the negative impact that the growing fringe voice brought home. To support this, the party has in its courtyard the evergreen logic that its vote share remained the same, even if it could register win in just three assembly seats.
— That, the country’s society is getting more open about the ‘reservation debate’ – that the widespread social feeling is in sync with the deepening perception that the ‘whole affirmative action policymaking’ needs an overhaul now – after decades of ‘status quo’ compromised by political compulsions.
— That Narendra Modi is still the most popular political leader of India and still commands people’s trust.
— That BJP still has better chances to fight and win the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, something that will further bolster its claims to retake the Indian Parliament again in 2019 General Elections.
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
