2019 Lok Sabha: A Lesson for All
2019 Lok Sabha: A Lesson for All: On 23rd May 2019, a new history was written. Narendra Modi led BJP successfully defended the throne of Delhi Sultanate and added to it, his five years of leadership helped BJP win the majority on its own once again. The result reflected that India is gradually rising above the age-old caste equations and heading towards becoming a country where development was going to be the only priority. The election results also brought to the light the weakness of the opposition and how our politicians are disconnected from the ground reality. Here I try to bring out few lessons that not only the opposition but even the ruling government should learn from the result of 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Rahul Gandhi Losing Amethi
The Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi was created in 1967. The seat has almost always been held by Indian National Congress. Moreover, the Gandhi family be it Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and then Rahul Gandhi held the seat for more than 3 decades. The seat was infact considered to be the family bastion of Gandhis. However, 2019 Lok Sabha election proved that nothing should be taken for granted. Rahul Gandhi who has been MP from Amethi for 15 years lost the seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani by over 50000 votes. In 2014 Lok Sabha election, Smriti Irani was defeated by Rahul Gandhi with more than lakh votes but Smriti Irani despite losing the election visited the constituency regularly and worked for the constituency. On other hand Rahul Gandhi after the victory ignored his own constituency and left it on its own. The electorates of Amethi answered Rahul Gandhi for his ignorance through ballots and rewarded Smriti Irani for her dedication towards development of Amethi.
Jyotiraditya Scindia losing Guna
Guna, a Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh was held by Scindia family since Independence. However, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had been the MP of Guna for 17 years lost the seat to BJP’s K P Yadav by a margin of over 1 lakh votes. The “Maharaja” lost the seat to the person who has once been his close aide. After the denial of ticket in 2018, he parted his ways from Congress and joined BJP. The victory of K P Yadav bought out the beauty of Indian democracy. His victory assured that nepotism may no longer be enough to win election in India in future.
BJP making Inroads in Bengal
Bengal, the state known for favoring same political party and leader for decades threw a biggest surprise of Lok Sabha 2019 election. BJP which has been a non-entity in the state made inroads by winning 18 Lok Sabha seats. The power and respect that people of Bengal gave to Mamata Banerjee and her party, TMC, the same people of Bengal, by their votes cautioned Mamata Banerjee to respect the mandate. Drunk in power, Mamata Banerjee and her party had started considering themselves to be above law and people. The Lok Sabha election result woke her up to reality. The electorates who usually remained silent due to fear of state government followed a simple policy of “Chup Chap Kamal Chap”. The result of Bengal Lok Sabha was also a tribute to the ones who had lost their lives due to dictatorial attitude of the State government.
In Politics One Plus One is Not Two
23rd May 2019 became the day when many of the AC room pollsters lost their credibility. These pollsters believed that the Mahagathbandhan of SP, BSP and RLD, whose voteshare of 2014 Lok Sabha election put together was more than that of BJP and it allies, were going reduce the mighty BJP to handful seats in Uttar Pradesh. However, the result showed, how disconnected these people were from ground reality. BJP and its allies who had won 73 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 were able to win 64 seats losing just a handful of seats. The result was evident that in politics one plus one is not two. It also brought to light an image of New India where caste-based politics had no space, throwing a light upon the “Politics of Development”.
Politics of Nationalism
When Indian army conducted surgical strike many opposition leaders demanded the proof of strike, when Air force hit Balakot in Pakistan the same jamaat wanted the number count of the terrorist killed. They not only questioned the government but defamed the valor of our security forces. However, they were answered. The electorates answered them and showed them that in India nationalism should not be taken for granted. The leader like Kanhaiya Kumar who stood firmly with Tukde Tukde Gang was answered by electorates. Result was evident that if you are to represent people of India, you should first learn to respect India. Thus, the result proved nationalism and national security to be important part of Indian politics.
No Place for Politics of Negativity
2019 Lok Sabha election campaign crossed all limits of negativity. Every political party stooped to new low by inflicting personal attacks on each other. Calling the Prime Minister “Chor”, “Neech” did not turn out to be profitable for opposition. People rewarded the opposition with the worst defeat of their political career. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi stood vindicated by the electorates. The politics of hate and negativity was lost inside the caves of darkness.
Outcome
The result of Lok Sabha 2019 reposed the trust of Indian electorates upon Prime Minister Modi and BJP. However, the result also increased the responsibility of Modi and his government to work for the people of India. A healthy democracy requires a strong opposition. The result taught a lesson to opposition to be productive and work together with the ruling government rather than being an obstruction to the functioning of government. Lastly, the result also warns Modi and his ministers not to misuse the mandate and work selflessly towards the goal of making India “Viswa Guru”. Thus we can say ” 2019 Lok Sabha: A Lesson for All “
Title: 2019 Lok Sabha: A Lesson for All
Read: How India rose above Caste Barrier ?
Nitesh Singh