BRACE YOURSELVES-ELECTION-2019: ON THE WAY

In a month, the BJP-Government led by NaMo is all set to enter its 5th and final year of its regime. It has been 4 years since Modi tsunami swept away the whole nation. By trashing out UPA led by Congress, BJP stormed into power with absolute majority on its own. Modi was seen as symbol of hope for ‘New India’ model and expectations reached pinnacle on his promise of ‘Acchae Din’. On assuming power Modi started to introduce his visionary plans like ‘Clean India’, ‘Smart city’, ‘JAN-DHAN’ Yojna and so and so in his initial period. But instead of focusing on proper implementation of these plans and schemes to bring development and change, Modi government gradually lost its track on the way. Agenda of Modi-Shah shifted to consolidation of power and expansion of its party’s rule across the nation in all the directions and saffronising India, as BJP is in power in 21 of 29 states as of now. Though all may look good now, 2019 is not going to be such a cake-walk for Modi. Dissent among the people starts to grow day by day as country faces greater challenges such as unemployment, economic downfall and social discontent. Demonetization and hasty implementation of GST widely hit economy and employment of informal sector which contributes majority of the business activity. Exile of bank fraudsters like Mallaya and Nirav Modi with back to back exposure of the scams in the banking sector hit clean and corruption free image of Modi's rule. Modi's persona as warrior against corruption now a days no longer effective with these happenings. Right-wing and Hindutuva politics are also haunting government’s image. It is going to be a double edged sword for Modi’s government.  In its final year, the ruling party is in huge pressure for the deliverance of its promise to regain its power.

The present scenario gives a good opportunity to fight and counter BJP dominance for the first time since 2014. Rahul Gandhi elevated as the Party President at the crucial timing, he now stepped up to face the challenges ahead of him to restore glory and legacy of the Congress. He and Congress gave a good fight during the Gujarat elections which showed the great resilience in Modi’s home turf. Punjab victory also boosted Party’s spirit. Nowadays Rahul plays pro-active role in the political ground with the responsibility of being Party’s head. But he has to propel and push himself harder to match the energy and charisma of his giant opponent Modi which is an uphill task. Karnataka assembly election in May could be a litmus test for both Congress and BJP. Rahul would prepare himself to show and prove his ability in the state where Congress is in power.

Chandrababu Naidu’s recent split from BJP government created new political equation for the alternate front. Mamta works on efforts to form anti-Modi by joining all the regional parties such as DMK, TDP, NCP, TRS, SP, BSP, AAP, and JDU under one roof. There is a probability of a grand alliance as talks are going on with the likes of Mayavati, Kejriwal, Lalu, Akilesh, KCR, Stalin, Patnaik, Thackreys to form united opposition alliance to stop Modi’s regime. But the unity factor is still under a question as they face ideological and regional differences among them .The Congress party’s strategy would be to unite all those parties which are keen to overthrow Modi from power at any cost. So steps would be taken by Congress to bring all of them under its belt to give the biggest challenge for Modi-Shah & co-led BJP alliance in 2019.

As things starts to build up now, 2019 elections are going to be a cracker of a contest for sure, as we could witness lots and lots of unexpected twists and turns in the coming days. Brace yourselves for the exciting ‘Elections-2019’.