Pune: As results rolled in, the electoral results proved a host of points. That BJP and it’s electoral machinery is one of the best, is now the story of the past. The story for the day is how the opposition especially the Congress is yet to get hang of electioneering despite having a clear edge in the initial runs. The story of Bihar, is the story of micro management and about coordination both of which the BJP managed way better than the opposition camp.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi went to town about Vote Chori but it was the failure of his party men to ensure it translates on ground. Elections, in the 21st century is fought on strategy which includes people and machinery. Technology and it’s usage is more important than creation of a dialogue which stresses on ideology or economics. Right from the word go, the Jaggernaut of NDA’s machinery ( especially that of BJP) was on ground. Senior leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah and a host of ministers had hit the ground. Voters lists, booth level workers and the gigantic machinery of which took care of narrative were more than ready. A resource rich campaign saw the NDA ensure it betters it’s position beating the proverbial anti incumbency.
Its for the future now to see how the new NDA plays out. Will Nitish Kumar continue to call the shots or will a resurgent BJP be happy to play the second fiddle is for the days to unravel. This victory is another proof that machinery and narrative formation are as important as issues and ideology. An election in Mordern day has a changed perspective – those who smell the coffee would be able to win the same.
Bihar’s results were almost expected given the post voting belligerence of the opposition camp. What was to be an easy election turned out to bugbear due to the various fissures that rose. Tejaswi Yadav, the heir apparent of Lalu Yadav failed to iron out the difference. Gandhi might have hit the grounds with the right noises, his party failed to keep up them alive. The party, many felt had failed to revive the necessary infrastructure to win an election. Leaders, have failed to realise the importance of grass root workers in the process. Gone are the days of personal charisma which would get them elected. Elections require more than charisma -it requires soldiers who are trained and knowledgeable. Issues would fail to resonate or translate if they are not translated on the ground. What many felt was that the leader of opposition would have done a much better job if he would have camped in Bihar for a longer time instead of whirlwind tours.
(The writer Is a former journalist based out of Maharashtra. He has widely covered politics, agriculture and business. At present he is a student of Sociology with the Savitribai Phule Pune University. He can be reached on Linkedin)
