The impressive victory of the BJP getting an absolute majority in the Gujarat Assembly elections will no doubt worry the Congress led UPA Government at the Centre. No one would have thought that Chief Minister Narendra Modi could have won with such ease. To top it all, Modi’s win for a third time in office is quite spectacular given that any ruling Chief Minister would have had to face the anti-incumbency factor. The victory of the BJP in Gujarat for the fourth straight time and more so of Modi and his leadership will remain a significant point of debate in the context of Indian elections and politics. The Congress may have marginally improved its position over the 2002 elections, but it is quite obvious that the voting public have broadened their viewpoint on politics and the issues that are of concern to them. Likewise, the Congress strategy of courting BJP rebels and indulging in power play at the last minute appeared to be opportunistic and devoid of any political principles. Not surprisingly, Modi warded off the challenge by party rebels who were demolished in their strongholds.
The just concluded Gujarat election is therefore significant and may point to a new direction of electoral politics especially at the State level. Firstly unlike the so called BIMARU States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the voting public of Gujarat appears to have been much better informed about their politics. When public is enlightened about issues and problems, politicians cannot take them for granted so easily. And despite the political circumstances prevailing in Gujarat in the aftermath of the Godhra riots and the politicians who are to be equally blamed for giving a communal color to the election campaign, the voters in Gujarat appear to have applied a keen sense of maturity while making their choice—determined not by caste, secularism, communalism but on issues of governance, stability and development.
Political parties and the voting public in other States must draw lessons from the Gujarat experience, where the old mindset of using non-issues such as caste and religious appeal to garner votes is now giving way to a more enlightened voting public for whom the things that matter is about peace, prosperity and happiness which can be assured through good governance, political stability and development. The difference between victory and defeat for the BJP and Congress respectively appears to be the political mindset. While Modi and the BJP projected issues of development and stability, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress used a negative poll plank of appealing to voters by using the communal card especially against Modi. For the Congress and its star campaigner Sonia, the ‘merchant of death’ remark was avoidable. Interestingly while Modi was doing his best to keep his anti-minority image at bay and projecting development as the key issue, the Congress thought that it would corner Modi for being anti-Muslim. But the outcome of the elections will suggest that Sonia’s remark may have actually turned the tide in favour of Modi.
