Delhi election result has shattered so many beliefs, delusions and predictions that most of the political pundits who flaunted their social and political wisdom are reduced to excuses like “I had a feeling that AAP will win by a huge margin.” 10 February 2015 is a disaster day for BJP. The party which was capturing zones after zones in the north, south, east and west like Ashwamedha horse got slaughtered in its own citadel. Even the best political strategist, the most popular face, and the most vibrant social media hordes couldn’t save the bastion. On 2015, BJP is snubbed by the same set of people who raised it to glory a few months back.
Social and political catastrophes provide a break from routine and force organizations/individuals to contemplate about what-went-bad and what-harmed-the-most. The big victory of BJP in May 2014 raised expectations of masses on impracticable heights, therefore it was anticipated that unfilled promises will hurt them within a year. Delhi was unlucky to suffer it the most. However, 3 seats out of 70 uncover darker stories apart from failed promises or inaccurate strategies. In fact, on a failure pie-chart, the “what-harmed-the-most” segment will distinctly cover more are than “what-went-bad”.
I stood for BJP for last one year because I found myself aligned with the political, social and economic philosophies of BJP. I appreciate Arvind Kejriwal for his ostentatious victory, but I can’t appreciate his idea of freebies and communism. I wish that he improves Delhi – by reducing corruption, by introducing facilities, by providing prosperity to all, but as a believer of center-right ideologies, I am hurt and I have some serious grievances with BJP. Now onwards, for each of these, I will have put my views after calibrating BJP steps on “is-this-something-I-wanted.” Here are some of them:
Silence: When people like Sakshi Maharaj and Sadhvi Jyoti made some ridiculous statement, BJP tried to diplomatically handle it by warning them but avoided a strong message against such stupidity. It is argued that these people may be tarnishing the urban image, but they are crowd pullers at grassroots. My concern is – if these people bring victory to BJP, would I like to celebrate a victory laden by stupidities of such people? The answer is always a no.
Swaccha Bharat: Modi has responsibly taken the initiative of Swaccha Bharat. He is leaving no stones unturned to propagate it to every possible layer. However, the mudslinging and vulgar attacks – which started in 2014 and peaked during this whole campaign – were exceptionally disappointing. If BJP talks about cleaning streets, but it couldn’t control its social media team to become ambassadors of clean campaigns, I would not be excited join the bandwagon.
Desperation: The sudden entries of Kiran Bedi and Shazia Ilmi may be anticipated as masterstroke, but if on the fundamental level, it was a hollow desperate move to gain votes. Sadly, it harmed BJP and now these people will be used as scapegoats by workers/leaders who were sidelined during elections. BJP Delhi couldn’t grow a local face. Even in last elections, apart from Harshvardhan, no one had an impressive background.
Excuses: Media is targeted as one of the reasons for this loss. Seriously? The same media which went gaga over Narendra Modi becomes one of the biggest reasons. Media didn’t cover AAP and Newspapers were flooded with Narendra Modi, Kiran Bedi and Amit Shah’s advertisements. If BJP supporters, even after gaining such advantages, attack media for the image management, I can’t support a party which is so dependent on media for its victory.
Dependency: What was BJP selling in Delhi – Modi. From the first day, Kiran Bedi threw inessential praises and accolades on Modi. Election campaigns revolved around Modi, social media hypes were woven around Modi, promises were bolstered around Modi and hopes were carved around Modi. The same promotional team during political mess justifies, “What all do you want Modi to do. He is the PM.” If that is the known reality, how can I promote and consume such campaigns?
It would be too early to make a permanent opinion. I will wait for the next steps and I hope that BJP incorporates some optimistic changes. One of the simplest, but most beautiful revelations of Classical Mechanics is that Friction – which opposes the motion of an object – also helps rolling objects to move forward. I hope that BJP acknowledges friction and uses it to roll forward.
