What went wrong??

So the muffler man Kejriwal does what has never been done before! More than reflecting over his victory, we can reflect over BJP’s set of mistakes.

It is good to have a smart, suave, presentable Prime Minister. But people will definitely follow a faded jersey clad muffler man if they find him pitted against somebody clad in royal clothes. So it was 10 lac suit against 200 INR muffler. Masses in India obviously chose the latter! India after all is a country of struggling, hungry, ill-clad masses. They sympathize with the underdog. Modi, the tea seller of the past, garnered sympathy in parliamentary elections. Now it is the time of muffler man to be made a prince from his castrated status of a mad lampoon. It was not for nothing that Gandhiji abandoned clothes to mix with the poorest of the poor. Modi has to look less exclusive! Indian masses are decades away from their appreciation of style and statement like the Americans appreciate the US First Lady's style. 

Never ever publicly declare your intention to annihilate your enemy. However strong reason you have to destroy him! The slogan of ‘Congressmukt Bharat’ is catchy, but injurious. Do your deed, but why repeatedly tell your enemy that you are going to annihilate him?! Congress is cornered. They know BJP wants to dismantle the party itself. So what is the option left for them? Their sense of victory right now can just be to help anybody in defeating BJP. They did it smartly in Delhi by shifting its votes to AAP’s coffers. They even know that AAP’s clout will increase at the national level. They are but very much comfortable with the idea that AAP gets 50 or 60 seats in next Parliamentary elections. Well and good. They are happy to lead corrupt coalition governments, unlike BJP that wants a one man show in India. So AAP emerging nationally is a step towards Congress getting one more partner in a future coalition government.   

When BJP started its all out campaign to wipe out regional outfits, I had this apprehension that all and sundry political forces, which hitherto did not see eye to eye, will cling to each other in short term to somehow survive BJP onslaught. This is what has happened in Delhi assembly elections. Congress, communists, janta dal, bahujan samaj party all allowed their vote bank to go under AAP's fold. Result! BJP getting the bitter political pill that will cure it of its paranoid political fever to color India politically in just one color! India is strangely unified in teasing diversities. Those who accommodate these divisions survive, and those who cross age-old barriers will come against unified opposition from various groups. Lesson is learnt: You cannot afford to neglect friendly regional forces. Having regional partners is a sign of your strength and legitimacy, not weakness. It is not for nothing that America that can singlehandedly wage war against whole world, still keeps small contingents of troops from friendly small countries! It adds to the legitimacy of its actions!

  

Another factor that has put BJP in a shady zone is a few personas emerging all powerful and manipulative. It makes a party look aloof from common man, creates apprehensions, puts it in a too lofty position at which common man looks with insecurity. Hope Modi, Shah, rajnath and gadkari pull strings in more subtle ways, instead of making it evident in high profile posturing in media. Let BJP, the party, be at the forefront at least in media! We can have more pictures of development works accomplished by BJP, and lesser full framed robust pictures of arrogant Shah walking majestically after press conferences. He can continue with his string pulling from behind the scenes, but it should not be evident in media. Amit Shah is also becoming too predictable in that he goes for religious polarization. He has to pull his strings differently now, and without high profile posturing in media.

Young educated part of Indian population is outright against religious rhetoric and extremist talk and posturing. Have administrators in your cabinet. Saffron clad jingoistic sadhus and sadhvis can catapult venom from other platforms, but if they do it from ministerial positions, then even appeased Hindu Gods would not save you from modern public’s anger.