WHAT HAPPENED IN DELHI & WHY - THE FUTURE

So the totally unexpected has happened. BJP soundly lost Delhi election. It is a self goal. Hit wicket. Is it a victory for AAP? I don't think so. AAP has not changed in anyway after the last Delhi Assembly election. Besides BJP had captured all the seven parliamentary seats less than a year back and followed it up with more victories in the States which went to poll since then. Its national policies are accepted by a very large majority of people. Then why this loss in Delhi?

BJP had clear cut views on economic development. We were moving away from the worn out socialistic path. Finally we had a leader who convinced all of us that without economic development neither the poor can move up the social order nor our nation can be counted as a leader among nations. He made it clear that our six decades old socialistic path or past glory will not get us anywhere. Renouncing the socialistic path for economic progress caught the imagination of people. A totally unexpected majority on its own for BJP in Parliament was the result. Things were moving rather smoothly.

That is when the self goal or hit wicket happened. The BJP leadership could not control the extremists within the party. These passive extremists were covering their anti-Hindu policies within the garb of patriotism or nationalism; but people did not swallow it. That is the reason why their following did not grow enough to win the elections. At the same time their organizational set up was excellent which BJP lacked. The nitty-gritty of running a national political party was in their hands. The parliamentary victory gave these extremists a false sense of approval by the large majority of people. The result was they started talking out of turn. While the PM won the Parliamentary election by 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas' slogan, these extreme elements openly made it  conditional that one has to accept being a Hindu for a share in national wealth. This proposition was not acceptable to those who considered, rightly or wrongly, the word Hindu had religious connotations.

The leadership, especially the PM, could have and should have nipped in the bud the undesirable exuberance of these hardcore cadre. But for two reasons he failed to do so. The first and foremost was he himself was one among them till very recently who could not distinguish the past glory of India apart from its various religions. Hence for an inclusive policy, he could only go as far as saying 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas'. He could not say emphatically that Muslims were as much Indian as Brahmins. The other reason for his silence was he felt obliged to all these elements for their organizational help to win the election and he needed them in future also to win over at least the largest States UP, Bihar and WB. Not that he was not fully aware of the harm being caused by these elements to the party and to the nation; But till he gets a majority in the Rajya Sabha and wins over the assemblies in UP, Bihar and WB he has no alternative but to wait.

Let's hope that the extremist cadre of BJP has learnt its lesson and will not rock the boat at least till the other side of the river is reached safely. Once economic development becomes a fait accompli. Delhi election results could have given a more authoritative voice to the PM. But now with his coming budget and other plans he will have show that he is in full control.

I bet that AAP will try its best to equate him with Kejriwal. Instead of confrontation, a long rope is what is required.  If they succeed he can surely claim his share; if they fail they will fade away. What should not be done is giving them a reason for their failure by not cooperating with them.