New Delhi: The BJP decisively reversed the trend of 2018 Assembly election results in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where it had lost to the Congress, and surged ahead in these crucial Hindi heartland states, show emerging trends.
The BJP had put up a good fight in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It is leading in all 25 seats in Rajasthan while in Madhya Pradesh, it is leading in 28 of the 29 seats. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP is leading in 9 of the 11 seats and Congress in two.
The Narendra Modi factor seemed to have trampled everything else along with the BJP’s plank of national security and its welfare pitch.
Given that the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were formed by outside support, the BJP’s win could also put a question mark on their longevity. More so in Madhya Pradesh where the Congress had won by a mere whisker in the last year’s Assembly polls.
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What happened in Assembly polls
In Rajasthan, the Congress had won 99 seats in the assembly elections and later got the support of 12 Independent MLAs, taking its tally to 111 in a House of 200.
In the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress had won in a photo finish, bagging 114 seats while the BJP secured 109 seats in the 230-member Assembly. The Congress managed to form the government with support from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Independent MLAs.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress had performed spectacularly, bagging 68 seats in a House of 90 while the BJP won only 15. Following the debacle, the BJP dropped all its sitting MPs in the state and gave tickets to new faces. The strategy seems to have paid off as the party is leading in nine seats.
Contrast for Congress
The Congress failed to carry forward the momentum it got after last year’s assembly elections.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had lost all 25 seats in Rajasthan, managed to win only two in Madhya Pradesh and just one in Chhattisgarh.
One of the major factors behind the party’s success in the assembly polls was its promise of farm loan waivers and employment. The Congress’ entire campaign had revolved around these promises, and it also capitalised on anti-incumbency. But the trend did not carry over to the Lok Sabha polls.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in the Hindi belt, and even emphasised on the “good work” done by the Congress governments in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The party had also implemented the promise of farm loan waiver in all the three states. But none of this seemed to work at the hustings.
In Madhya Pradesh, it seems the controversy surrounding the candidature of terror-accused Pragya Thakur and her controversial ‘Nathuram Godse was a patriot’ remark did not affect the BJP’s popularity.
Also read: Difference between Pragya Thakur and LK Advani is only in the shade of Hindutva
No one can stand in the path of a tsunamo, true, but the CMs of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have not justified the faith reposed in them.