The mega electoral victories in Maharashtra and Haryana have charged the BJP cadre who were crestfallen after the saffron party secured a subdued victory in the 2024 General elections.
These state election victories not only play a pivotal role in regaining the lost ground and confidence but also strike down the narrative disseminated by the opposition that the Modi 3.0 will drag its feet and will remain at the mercy of unreliable alliance partners.
However, the electoral results of Maharashtra and Haryana have several messages that will continue to have a long-term bearing on the future course of Indian polity for all several stakeholders including PM Modi, BJP, Congress, and the National Polity.
For PM Modi, these victories re-emphasize that the Modi wave is far from over and he is still the biggest vote getter. Moreover, the victories showcase that, as usual, the saffron party has come back stronger from electoral setbacks tying its loose ends.
While the opposition fearmongered about allies ditching the BJP over the Hindutva plank, the BJP has rekindled its Hindutva politics with the entire rank and file giving a clarion call for Unity – Batenge to Katenge, Ek Hai to Safe hai, stern stance on illegal migration, Muslim appeasement politics, coming hard on the draconian powers of the Waqf Board among others.
And for Congress, the honeymoon period of Lok Sabha’s face-saving performance is over. The caste census is dead before arrival and it has nothing with them left except the hope of Rahul Gandhi’s coming of age.
Additionally, these elections have once again underscored the fact that the BJP under PM Modi has gotten over the norm of an anti-incumbency, revolving-door governance model. While world over anti-incumbency has proved to be an insurmountable challenge for the incumbents, the BJP under PM Modi has banked on development politics, social cohesion, Hindutva, and Nationalism to coin a new governance model – Pro-incumbency.
