Factors behind the NDA Victory

The NDA victory for a second consecutive term was no doubt

won mainly through the hard work of the cadre of the BJP

directed by the strategy devised by Amit Shah. The BJP was also able to take its allies along with it, despite disagreements expressed by some of them before the polls.

The BJP had an undisputed leader in Narendra Modi, its prime ministerial face. The opposite alliance, if it could be called that, had no alternative to project as Rahul Gandhi of the Congress was not a unanimous choice. Nor could the opposing parties agree on a credible alternative. Nor did all the opposing parties agree to join an alliance.

The campaign was not just aggressive but often degenerated into the abusive. But perhaps the Congress’ favourite slogan of ‘Chowkidar chor hai’ indicating that the prime minister was a thief, did not go down well with the public which thought it showed disrespect to the country’s prime minister and not just the individual, Modi. To an extent, this backfired on the Congress, especially as the perception of the prime minister in the public mind was one of a hard working non-corrupt man. The Rafale deal somehow did not seem such a great disaster or something that had led to Modi making money out of it.

The welfare schemes that the Modi government implemented fairly efficiently certainly helped the NDA win a second term. True, the promises fell short, but even the people who had so far not got a gas connection or a toilet built had hope that if some people had benefited, in time others too would get there.

A large section of the population were convinced that the other parties wooed the minorities just for votes, and in the process ‘appeased’ them. The Hindutva plank certainly played a role in the support enjoyed by the BJP. But it is also to be noted that the BJP was able to cut across caste divisions to get the majority it did.

The firm way in which the government seemed to have handled Pakistan – the surgical strikes and later the air force strike in Balakot in February 2019 – turned the tide in favour of the NDA in a big way. There is no doubt that national

security was a big issue pushing into the background important issues, such as slowing economic growth, joblessness, and farmers’ distress. It did not help the opposition in that it chose to question the government on its achievement; it seemed as if it was questioning the army’s capability.

The huge victory of the NDA, however, should not blind us to the fact that the opposition in Parliament has been reduced commensurately. A democracy can be healthy only if there is a strong opposition to question and keep in check the executive.

APPENDICES