Amazing Voter:

 February 11/2015 : The Delhi assembly election verdict is an defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardass Modi. The build-up for this was immense. The BJP employed all forces at its command, starting from the party’s around 150 MPs, all Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states, every single member of the Union Cabinet and thousands of RSS workers from across the country to, finally, all the goons at the disposal of party chief Amit Shah.

Rightfully, Delhi is termed as ‘Mini India’. This city is unique not only because it has a clear definition of all the four seasons, but also because people from across the country live here shoulder to shoulder. One is not surprised to see a Malayali as neighbour to a Manipuri or a Bengali living next to a Jat. This composition truly reflects India in its thinking. No other city or state can claim to have such a variety of population. Therefore, the victory of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi has a representational character.

Prior to Delhi, in the last nine months, the BJP has not shown any extraordinary shine in the series of state elections. In Haryana alone it got a clear majority, winning 47 out of 90 seats in the state assembly. In Maharashtra, after getting rid of its long-time ally the Shiv Sena, it could not muster enough seats to claim a majority in a house of 288. Getting only 122 seats, the BJP had to bite the dust and then take the help of the Sena to form a government. In Jharkhand, in a house of 81, the BJP on its own could win only 37 seats. 

It was able to form a government with the help of its post poll ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union, that won five seats. Similarly, the party that launched a ‘Mission 44’ plan in Jammu and Kashmir for the assembly polls ended up with 25 seats in a house of 87, conceding ground to the PDP that got 28 seats.

No party has been able to form a government in J&K till now, though the polls were held December 23. While the elections in these states demonstrated an immediate decline in the fortunes of the Narendra Damodardass Modi-led BJP, one cannot but remember the all-knowing psephologists who claimed, after the 2014 General Elections, that the days of the regional parties were over.

The AAP victory in Delhi proves that the alternatives to the so-called national parties are still alive and strong. The soothsayers conveniently forgot that the average Indian, after a decade-long, rotten governance by the UPA, had got completely tired of the Congress. As an alternative to the Congress, they saw the BJP as the only alternative available in most of the northern and western states. This situation was completely misread by many of the high and mighty. They interpreted the Lok Sabha poll results as a pro-Modi mandate. In reality, now we know, it was purely an anti-Congress mandate.

Bringing in a Kiran Bedi did not help the BJP. It rather helped in damaging the cause of the BJP. The BJP, however, had no cause worth mentioning in Delhi and this was evident all through its campaign days. Prior to the campaign, the BJP had gone all out to legislate populist laws simply with a view to influencing the voter. Those who remember the last days of the Winter Session 2014 of Parliament would also remember the plethora of enactments and ordinances that were brought in, keeping the elections in view.

Now it is proven that the average Indian voter is extremely alert and aware of what’s happening around him. Every political decision of the Indian voter demonstrates an extremely high sense of judgment. All that the citizen can pray for now is that a similar judgmental acumen would develop in them in matters such as tolerance, sensitivity and honesty that would certainly help the creation of a healthy and sensitive society.