Modi’s development politics sweeps BJP to power in UP, Uttrakhand

Sachchidanand Jha

Modi tsunami swept BJP to two-third majority in India’s biggest state UP and neighbouring Uttrakhand on March 11, 2017, far exceeding all exit poll projections and proving all political analysis wrong. PM Narendra Modi’s development agenda has really worked wonders for the BJP. Jan Dhan Yojna under which bank accounts of around 60 crore people were opened, demonetisation ( DeMo), Swachh Bharat Yojna to make villages open defecation free (ODF) and Ujjawala Yojna under which free LPG connections were given to the people below poverty line(BPL) and rural electrification programme combined with BJP national President Amit Shah’s social engineering and micro management played a major role in BJP’s success.

The BJP, which had won 73 of the 80 parliamentary seats and led in 337 assembly segments in 2014 General Elections, led in 323 out 403 assembly seats in 2017 UP assembly polls making Modi Magic a very potent political weapon. The UP assembly poll results clearly suggest that the people have voted for BJP rising over caste affiliation endorsing Modi’s development politics. A section of muslims also appear to have voted for the BJP.

Modi campaigned very extensively and aggressively during the electioneering and camped in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency for three days.The BJP won six assembly seats out of ten in Rai Bareli and Amethi parliamentary represented by AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. In fact, Congress which ruled UP for several years after independence, could win only seven seats out of 105 it had contested in alliance with Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav suggesting Rahul was hardly a match for PM Narendra Modi who towered over his decimated his political rivals including Rahul, Akhilesh and BSP supremo Mayawati. The BSP could win around 2o seats and demanded an inquiry into functioning of EVM machines, which even Akhilseh supported. Akhilesh was far from being graceful in defeat and ended saying the voters were mislead and mostly talked in sarcasm including `perhaps people want bullet trains to be run’.

Amit Shah on March 11 described Narendra Modi ( NaMo) as the biggest politician of the country since independence. Shah said that the most appropriate candidate would be elected as the next chief minister of UP. Former J &K CM and top NC leader went to the extent of saying that opposition better chalk out strategy for 2024 LS poll indicating Modi tsunami would continue even in 2019 LS polls. JD(U) national secretary general K C Tyagi too asked opposition parties to unite before 2019 LS polls. Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said that the hope, which NaMo had created among people in 2014 LS polls, had converted into people’s confidence in him in 2017. The BJP has returned to power in UP after 15 years thanks Modi’s development politics.

Although the BJP performed reasonably well in Manipur and to some extent in even Goa, it suffered a massive defeat in Punjab where SAD-BJP combine could win only 17 seats ending Prakash Singh Badal (SAD)’s ten year rule. AAP also failed miserably both in Goa and Punjab.