Dear Editor,
Exit poll results have been belied to the extent the seats projected for NDA and have come true to the extent of keeping the I.N.D.I.A. bloc in opposition benches. This result has disabled the BJP from forming the government on its own. Uttar Pradesh state has upset the apple cart of BJP. Pran Prathishta of Bala Ram in Ayodhya has not turned the wind in favour of BJP. It is a neck-to-neck fight between NDA and INDI alliance.
This election has sprung many surprises also. BJP has opened its account in Kerala. It was not a cake-walk for Congress leader Shashi Tharoor from Thirvananthapuram constituency to win. Rajeev Chandrashekhar gave a tough fight to Tharoor.
BJP has pulled the Assembly election victory in Arunchala Pradesh, TDP in Andhra Pradesh. TDP has registered good victory in the Lok Sabha election also. The BJP’s position has improved in Karnataka after it suffered heinous electoral debacle in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Omar Abdullah and Mufti Mehbooba, both former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir have tasted defeat. It is repeat performance for BJP in Delhi. For AAP, it is not the same performance as in the previous Assembly elections. Action on Arvind Kejriwal for his involvement in the liquor policy scam did not earn any sympathy from the voters for AAP. The party has drawn blank.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi retains Varanasi, a seat which previously Murali Manohar Joshi held. Jitan Ram Manjhi has won. The sitting MP D.K. Suresh who was almost considered invincible lost the seat to Dr. Manjunath.
Dr. Manjunath is novice to politics. But his service to the people as doctor is immemorable. He had served the people as a doctor to such an extent that if he had been defeated, it would have been regarded as the people of Karnataka. Performance of BJP and Congress is on equal footing in Telangana.
The architect of the state K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s party BRS has been decimated by BJP and Congress. It is a clean sweep for BJP in Himachala Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Orissa. AAP for which Punjab is citadel has to be content with 3 seats ceding 7 seats to Congress and 3 to others. The continued cleavage between BJP and SAD in Punjab has come to the advantage of Congress and AAP. The citadel of TMC has remained intact despite Sandeshkhali incidents and despite quite often West Bengal witnessing large-scale violence. A hung Assembly or a hung Parliament cannot guarantee the stability of the government. There are innumerable instances of keeping the single largest party in the opposition both at the level of centre and states. Pre-poll alliances do not bar the constituents from crossing over to the other side after the poll is over. The Constitution confers rights to rule based on the numbers on the majority side. Right to rule is and has not been guaranteed to a single largest party. Coalition governments have crumbled like house of cards both at central and state levels.
Small differences of opinion can trigger off friction in the government. The art of handling coalition government is very difficult. But Modi has the talent. He can emulate the example of Atal Behari Vajpayee who successfully handled 13 parties with different ideologies. Modi 3.0 government will be fragile in nature. Both Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu are known to change their course. When they leave and when they come back cannot be predicted.
K.V. Seetharamaiah
