Bharatiya Janata Party got a major blow in the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat which it had swept in the Lok Sabha polls riding on Narendra Modi wave. The party lost 13 of the 23 seats in nine states. The present reversal in fortunes which follows party’s disappointing performance in the Assembly elections in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh is considered another test of Modi’s popularity. It was in Uttar Pradesh where BJP was on high after a near total sweep of 80 Lok Sabha seats had the worst drubbing as it lost seven of the ten seats held by it and one belonging to its ally Apna Dal to the ruling Samajwadi Party thus giving a jolt to BJP’s Hinduvata agenda. The party should now reconsider its policies and plan for inclusive growth for all and not follow one point agenda and talk on irrelevant issues like Love Jihad. Coining of such slogans have no place when it comes to governance. All the recent reversals of fortunes for the party were in strong Hindi belt in the Central India. No doubt local issues do prevail in the Assembly elections but creating religious frenzy does not work with voters. This is what Uttar Pradesh has replied to BJP’s saffronising of elections. In all these by-elections surprise winner has been Congress especially in Rajasthan and Modi’s own home state Gujarat. In West Bengal BJP made its entry after 1999 which is the biggest gain for the party. BJP contested Lok Sabha on the price front with a promise to bring down the prices of essential commodities which was the catalyst for its sweeping outcome during the Lok Sabha elections. But till date the promises made are yet to be met. The need for Modi is to speed up reforms to counter the setback especially when it comes to Assembly elections in the states where the local issues rule the roost. Repeated poll debacles have put a question mark on the popularity of Prime Minister Modi. Only four months ago, the BJP, riding high on the Modi wave, had stormed into power at the Centre.
