In elections that are being considered as semi finals in run up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the grand old party, Congress, is back in reckoning by making s strong imprint in Hindi heartland. It won Chhattisgarh by large margin, Rajasthan fairly nicely and MP by eking out a thin majority over it’s arch rival BJP, which was ruling in all these 3 states. Popular TRS Govt retained Telangana, while with Mizoram supporting MNF, Congress is now wiped out of North East.
Congress is naturally rejoicing the outcome and media is talking about acceptability of Rahul Gandhi as a National leader and eventual PM! The analysts are also writing Amit Shah off as an invincible strategist. The moot point here is, what’s the reality? Let’s enumerate the facts serially:
1. Congress under Rahul’s leadership has won 3 important states.
2. Opposition seems largely aligned under Congress leadership for the oncoming Lok Sabha polls.
3. BJP faced strong anti incumbency in all these 3 states, as these states were under BJP rule for 10-15 years at a stretch.
4. There is some ire against Modi Govt on account of GST, Demonetisation, Rafale deal, RBI Issue, Ram Mandir related tension etc.
5. Many associates of NDA are abandoning the ship, more prominent being TDP, a party that seems to be becoming fulcrum of opposition unity.
However, in spite of not being a Modi sycophant, I think there is tinge of sadness at the loss, because though some of the measures initiated by Modi were big disruptions, these were meant for achieving something good for the country. The final outcome of these might not have been aligned to the initial objective, but the sincerity of intention cannot really be questioned! I also feel that not too much may be read at the electoral setback to BJP in three states as it is now a proven fact that Indian voter is matured enough to vote differently in Lok Sabha and state elections. Also, except for Chhattisgarh it was just a defeat and not a humiliating rout for BJP.
If the party can make one last ditch effort to pursue the agenda of all inclusiveness instead of risking on polarisation, it may not rake up numbers of 2014, but it may still give continuity to developmental agenda of PM Modi.
Arvind Arya blog 
Rightly said..
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Miss your presence around me
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Sir, the key fact that Modi government has enthused is that India is now one of the fastest growing economies of the world, and is likely to emerge as the fifth largest which is further expected to double in the next seven years. This is a good proposition for any government to work with, be it in its last year or the first.
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Very aptly put Smita; but this may not be sufficient to win elections!
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