BJP can smile, a little
If the Congress is looking for an answer to its debacle in three of the five states, the BJP appeared somewhat satisfied with its recent electoral gains.
The saffron brigade not only routed the ruling Congress in Goa, it also managed to retain power as a minor partner in Punjab. Contrary to all predictions, the BJP also managed to fight back in Uttarakhand and ranked third in Uttar Pradesh with the Congress finishing a distant fourth.
“If the victory in Goa, Punjab and a fightback in Uttarakhand came as a major boost for the party, an improved tally in UP could have “given us a major edge at the national political scenario,” a senior BJP leader said. In fact in UP, BJP not merely lost its vote share but also came down from 51 to 47 seats.
In UP, the saffron calculation to woo OBC votebank, by bringing in tainted leader Babu Singh Kushwaha into the party failed to work. Factionalism, importing Uma Bharati to consolidate its Hindutva and backward votebanks boomeranged. In its bid to woo the OBC, the BJP lost its 31 per cent of the upper caste votebank to the SP.
Also if the party ignored its young leader Varun Gandhi, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s refu-sal to campaign for BJP in the state, exposed the chinks in the saffron armour. And at the end of the day, the BJP continued with its struggle to consolidate its lost base in Uttar Pradesh. And its search for a leader in UP continues.
In Goa, the Congress had split the BJP to come to power.
Led by Manohar Parrikar, the BJP completely decimated Congress and added another state to its kitty. The BJP-ruled states include Gujarat, MP, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Bihar (coalition partner), Punjab (coalition partner) and Jharkhand.
In Uttarakhand, despite the defeat of saffron chief minister B.C. Khanduri, the BJP not merely resisted a complete rout but remained in the race for power. Once again, the Congress failed to take advantage of the anti-incumbency factor and corruption charges levelled against former BJP CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in Uttarakhand.
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