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Opinion polls indicate BJP winning in Assam and gaining substantially in West Bengal. No wonder even if the saffron party surges ahead to wrest Bengal from Mamata. BJP might have lost MLC polls. Yet, it got over lakh votes. All this happens even when the prices of petrol, diesel, gas, edible oils, cement, steel, etc are at a record level. Why people while suffering still prefer to vote for the BJP? This question perplexes political activists and analysts alike.
One possible explanation is that BJP succeeded in delinking the electoral mandate from the livelihood concerns of voters. Religion, hyper-nationalism and such emotive issues have wider currency than wage cuts, job cuts, and loss of livelihoods or fiscal burden in the form of higher prices.
India is known for its culture of icon worship. BJP is effectively using the cultural dimension in the language of politics. The image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is largely unblemished even as BJP gets a beating. This carefully crafted personality cult-driven presidentialisation of politics makes the saffron party stronger as compared to other political parties suffering from a leadership crisis. The congress being its principal challenger at the national level, the BJP gains due to the leadership chaos inflicting the grand old party. Despite a stronger presence in the respective states, the regional satraps fail to challenge the national political narrative consummately presented by the BJP.
A sense of national insecurity is deliberately cultivated along with an image of strong leadership. Modi-Shah duo presiding over the BJP and a string of unconventional policy measures like abrogation of article 370, triple talaq bill, etc strengthened the strong leadership political narrative. The BJP is reasonably successful in marketing its unique selling proposition (USP) beyond national elections, though its efficacy is much stronger in parliamentary polls.
The BJP enjoys a strong propaganda machine along with an organizational army. Endowed with significant money power, the party could overwhelm its rivals by taking its political narrative to the masses. Its network of socio-religious organizations besides the party cadre helped in its ubiquitous presence, especially in areas where it has gained considerable strength.
Political rivals of BJP often indulge in political compromises and fail to counter the saffron party’s policies in politics effectively. Unknown fears and pressures may the reason for this. But, weakness in the counter-narrative to BJP politics in the rival camp is the reason behind the party’s electoral strength despite its policies incurring the wrath of the people. Massive media management and social media manipulation are to its advantage, as no rival could match up to its army on social networks.
-By Prof K Nageshwar
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