As per the early trends in the assembly elections of 5 states, it is evident that there is a lack of interest among BJP supporters to come out and vote for the party. It seems that BJP supporters are getting complacent about the victory of their party.
Chhattisgarh which was speculated as an easy win for the saffron party ended up being their biggest loss. Reports suggest that vote share of BJP increased in North and South region of Chhattisgarh, which used to be the weak zone for the party. But the central Chhattisgarh where the party had a stronghold was the region that actually dragged it to defeat. The population in the Central Chhattisgarh is mainly comprised of upper cast and OBC, which traditionally voted for BJP. This defeat of party and one of the most popular CM’s of the country, Raman Singh, shows that the supporters of BJP have taken its victory for granted.
In Rajasthan, Jatt voters were traditionally the core vote bank for the saffron party, but separation of Hanuman Beniwal, former BJP and Jatt leader, made a big hole in their vote bank. Hanuman Beniwal may play a big role in the formation of government in Rajasthan as no single party seems to have the majority in the state.
However, the most prominent reason for the complacency is the continuous victory of the BJP since 2014 when Narendra Modi was first elected as PM. After 2014, BJP won almost all of the state assembly elections leaving few exceptions to the like of Bihar, Delhi, and Karnataka. This lulled the BJP core voters into dormancy. These assembly elections are somewhat like semi-final prior to the final Lok Sabha election of 2019. This is the right time for the saffron supporters to buckle up and get ready to back their party by voting for it in 2019.
