The results of the recent by-elections in Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal seem to have created a sense of euphoria in the BJP leaders. Some of them have rushed to claim that it is symptomatic of the people’s anger against the United Progressive Alliance ruling at the Centre and a “pack-up” message to the Congress that leads it. However, it will be too presumptuous for the BJP to read too much in the by-election results, which do not always reflect the national sentiments. The party’s clean sweep in Gujarat is undoubtedly a reiteration of the electorate’s faith in the development agenda of the BJP’s most popular leader, Narendra Modi. The defeat of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U) in Bihar, on the other hand, may make him scale down his national ambitions and somewhat restrain him, creating frequent embarrassment for the BJP’s national leadership. However, it is too early for the BJP leaders to salivate on the smell of power.
The BJP must realise that the by-election results cannot be applied to the country as a whole unless the party presents a united face and comes up with a distinctive agenda for governance. At present, it has too many prime ministerial aspirants but none with a national acceptability so far. The coming state Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram will be a litmus test for Modi’s pan-India popularity.
While Gujarat may have thrown up a face, the party is yet to strengthen itself on the ground. The poor performance of its candidates in the recently held municipal elections in north is a grim reminder of this. In the run-up to the parliamentary elections, the BJP must streamline its organisation and ensure that its leaders do not speak in different voices and work at cross purposes. No individual, howsoever strong and popular, can lead the party to victory in the absence of clarity about its policies and programmes. The party must focus on issues rather than individuals and quietly do its groundwork while preparing for the coming electoral battles.