THE TIDE IS TURNING

I am both, happy as well as sad at the UP and Bihar bye-poll results. Close on the heels of Rajasthan and MP bye-polls; it is a clear signal that the tide is beginning to turn. I am happy because these results hopefully would dissipate BJP’s hubris, deflate its arrogance, and drive it towards introspection and course-correction.

Its rant that this was due to an unholy alliance between SP and BSP is ludicrous; given that it itself is allied with the brazenly anti-national PDP in J&K, and with regional parties in Nagaland and Tripura, which have had a track-record of separatist demands.

At the same time I am sad too because BJP has been a terrible let-down, given that it was given a massive mandate. With its absolute majority it was not encumbered with coalition constraints as the UPA was. It boasted of being a ‘party with a difference’ and was expected to deliver. Not only has it failed miserably to meet peoples’ expectations, it even shot itself in the foot with its hare-brained demonetization fiasco and shoddy implementation of GST.

Its biggest mistake has been its Hindutva agenda. Most people are alarmed at its divisive politics and hyper-Nationalism, due to which the Nation was let aghast with crisis-a-day headlines; such as lynching, moral-policing, love-jihad, Padmavat drama, polarizing and shameful utterances (e.g. against Jawans) as well as uncouth and arrogant behavior of its leaders.

Brazen contravention of democratic norms and weakening of institutions too have shocked people. Spate of recent scandals and signs of palace intrigues have been marring its credibility. The sense of optimism among the people after its victory has given way to despondency, despair and foreboding.

I am also unhappy because the alternative too does not seem promising, given the lack of a strong, credible opposition. BJP takes refuge behind the TINA (there is no alternative) factor, but that only leads to arrogance and complacency, as has been the Nation’s experience in the past. If it unequivocally sheds the Hindutva plank, and focuses only on an inclusive, pluralist and developmental agenda, it might retrieve some lost ground.