The Opposition needs to take essential lessons from Assembly Polls to defeat BJP in future. They tried hard to emerge as an alternative and raise some critical issues but could not gain the confidence of the masses. Let’s take the case of Uttar Pradesh Polls. Multiple things went wrong from the beginning.
From the beginning, there was an assumption that there would be an intense competition between the SP and BJP, and the BSP might emerge as the kingmaker. But, BSP could not make much from this opportunity. It began campaigning late, particularly BSP supremo Mayawati appeared much later on the battlefield. It tried to gain the support of its traditional voter base. However, her vote bank went to BJP and she was unable to gain their confidence and emerge as an alternative. Still, BSP was successful in taking away some vote share of the Muslim voters that prevented the win of SP’s candidates
Another participant in the elections was the decade-old Party of Congress. It once again lost the chance to recover its old pride, and worse, it could not even protect its stronghold of Amethi, Rae Bareli and Sultanpur. This time, Priyanka Gandhi was highly active in UP and directly criticised the Yogi government for its work. At the same time, she led the whole campaign working with the Congress members from UP.
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But, the performance of Congress says that it is essential to work at the grassroots level and connect with the rural population apart from being active in rallies and marches. After 2014, a big reason for the setback for Congress has been a disconnect from the grassroots level, and BJP has taken appropriate benefit of it working among the masses at all levels. Even the lack of party organisation and internal conflict in the party is reflected in the party’s results. Without any effective strategy, 2024, within two years, will also be difficult for Congress.
Now, coming to the biggest competitor of UP battle, Samajwadi Party competed well and gave a tough competition. However, it was lost due to some significant loopholes. The continuous defeat of SP can be problematic for the party. Akhilesh Yadav worked hard, but he was late to enter the battlefield and make alliances. Also, he was late in building up strong criticism against the BJP. He needs to come out among the masses and not just be active at rallies, press conferences or social media.
For BJP, it’s time to acknowledge the victory. But, there are a lot of aspects that need to be reconsidered by the party and even it needs to learn some important lessons. BJP had a strong trio of PM Modi, HM Amit Shah and CM Yogi. However, the issues like inflation, unemployment and imperfections in different sectors can give it a hard time in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Summing up,
The Assembly Elections have brought many lessons for the participants in Indian Politics. Firstly, BSP needs to come at the forefront and prepare from the earliest, making efficient and active use of every opportunity. Secondly, Congress needs to work out at grass root level and fix its internal organisation issues to gain the confidence of the masses and remerge as a vital alternative. Thirdly, SP taught us that BJP could be Defeated because it gave a tough fight to the ruling party. However, it was late to make a narrative against BJP and announce alliances. So, there is a scope to defeat BJP on essential issues, and for that, the opposition needs to be more active on the ground and overcome its shortcomings.
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