UP Elections-2017 turned tables for BJP
UP Elections have always been a game-changing scenario in the national polity, as all major politicians try their best to capture this set of public that has remained in tight-grip of Samajwadi Party and Mulayam Singh Yadav. The UP elections 2017 which could turn around the scenario for everyone in the political ball-game favored yet another win for BJP.
Out of 85 reserved seats in UP, BJP won 69.
Three seats each went to Modi’s ally, the Apna Dal (AD) of Union minister Anupriya Patel and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) of Om Prakash Rajbhar. Put together, Modi’s NDA won 75 out of 85 seats. That is a strike rate of more than 88%.
This came as a surprise especially because the Dalits, comprising 21% of the state’s population were believed to be hostile to BJP and favored the BSP, which ended up with just two seats, as they were worst hit in this scenario. This blow will change the political perspective of things for Mayawati. Whereas, the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance secured seven and a lone independent won. However, Samajwadi Party accepted the defeat with grace.
The scale of the victory in SC reserved seats needed years of effort, which BJP had to put in and BJP President, Amit Shah had a clear strategy in mind, which worked.
Let’s rewind the scenario!
BJP President Amit Shah’s strategies included a last minute Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s entry to address UP, which changed the entire game of UP elections 2017.
What is to be considered is that, during the last days of rally in UP Elections this year, it looked as if BJP will not gain any bahumat and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party will taste success, again. But the tables turned, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered Varanasi, the crowd was swept off its feet. In the last days, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the public, that made the whole difference in the UP elections result of 2017.
But how, remains the question?
Well, the enthusiasm for demonetization in itself subsided in subsequent months, but people’s faith in Modi had not. From Bareilly to Balia, from Meerut to Gorakhpur, from Shravasti to Jhansi, the voters gave a definite answer to who would they vote for
And this answer was of none other than, “Narendra Modi ki BJP”
Why?
Narendra Modi is a decisive leader?
Because he has increased India’s image abroad?
Or was it ki woh “Zameen ke neta hain” (born of the Indian land) isliye?
Because he has initiated many schemes for nation’s development like, Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan, Jan Dhan Yojana, Digital India, Global Citizen or Ujwala?
Well, the answer is “People of India have an Emotional Connection with Narendra Modi”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi swells, a deep and abiding faith of public welfare. He’s believed to be a man who will transform India, as he did with Gujarat, so why not UP.
So Narendra Modi made this sure through this election, by campaigning intensively and showing a picture of promise to the people, that having the same government at the Centre and the State will immensely change the face of development of the nation and its states. Understanding this, the faith of people doubled.
This emotional connection fueled the belief that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows what he’s doing. While he is sitting in Delhi, he can surely also run Lucknow, and rather run Lucknow better than the local contenders in the race. This was the illuminating effect of Modi Sarkar.
What more?
The BJP assumed that Muslims, and a majority of Yadavs and Jatavs would not vote for the party. This would leave 55-60% of the electorate for the BJP to target. And in order to do this, the party had to expand its social base. Thus, BJP has always been most successful in UP when it has constructed a coalition of upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs. Kalyan Singh was a product of this alliance, within the broader Hindutva umbrella.
In 2014, it reappeared.
Narendra Modi’s OBC identity, besides other factors, struck a chord with the state’s backward communities. The party’s upper caste base stayed with it and Dalit sub-communities too drifted to the BJP. With an ambitious but extremely careful and meticulously planned strategy of BJP President Amit Shah, the BJP has not only won the UP Elections 2017 but, it has also transformed its own party’s character.
To conclude it all, in my opinion it was the experiential learning that helped BJP. As you know that UP elections was always a tricky matter of subject in the game of national polity and it was the mix of Modi magic, careful caste management and social engineering, a risky but BJP President Amit Shah’s smart strategy that made it a clear winner this 2017.
This was because BJP had learnt from its earlier mistakes and it was their experiences of contesting in the earlier UP elections, which lined up the new strategy in mind for the BJP to score a massive win and experiencing the faith of people that Narendra Modi had gained. Everything lined up perfectly!
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