NEW DELHI: For the Bharatiya Janata Party, it's the stunning victory in Uttar Pradesh that's the jewel in the crown. At one stroke, it has managed to get a head-start for 2019, besides pocketing all the electorate it needs to control the upcoming President's election.
For more hard-nosed gains, look only at the Rajya Sabha where it will eventually help close the deficit in numbers, in the years to come. With the saffron surge, the Modi Government’s legislative agenda in the rest of the Budget session or later may face lesser obstacles.
If the GST is sure to roll out on schedule, the time for a uniform civil code and a ban on triple talaq has come. As for the criticisms heaped on note-bandi and the surgical strikes, the Prime Minister had the last laugh. His opponents just got a reply from the voters.
In UP, what surprised skeptics was that everyone seems to have voted for the BJP and its development promise, including the Muslim women in the hope of some relief on the triple talaq issue. The non-Yadav OBCs, who aggregate to an overwhelming part of the 40 per cent share (Yadavs being only 9 per cent) were also conclusive.
In his post-victory press conference on Saturday evening, BJP chief Amit Shah called it a universal verdict that confirmed the people's acceptance of the BJP as a pro-poor, pro-Dalit, pro-backward party - - a stance that more or less sees the BJP overcome early criticism of being pro-business and essentially replacing the Congress from its old claim to a universalist and inclusive appeal.