Assembly Election results - An eye-opener for political class

Biswajit Jha The results of the five states-Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram-that went to Assembly poll recently- have shattered some myths about electioneering in India. The results may, in the long run, also force political parties to change their strategy to stay ahead. Until now, it was widely believed that development alone can’t win you elections in India. Despite giving good governance to the people, one needs to have emotive issues to woo Indian voters. This conception has taken a beating as three incumbent Chief Ministers successfully managed to hold fort. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh, Sheila Dikshit respectively went to the husting with development as their chief poll plank. And look how smartly they managed to win! In Delhi, Dikshit banked upon the work done in her uninterrupted 10-year rule. The BJP, on the other hand, tried to cash in on Mumbai terror attacks and Delhi bomb blasts, but failed miserably. The Delhi voters were not swayed by the rhetoric of the BJP. Instead, they voted for a credible government, rejecting the negative campaign of the BJP. The Delhi denizen voted for the lady who brought wholesome developmental to the state. Madhya Pradesh also witnessed the same story. The pragmatic man as he is, Shivraj Singh Chouhan went ahead with his development agenda. Unruffled by Congress’ negative poll strategy, Shivraj stressed on development and didn’t fell prey to it. The numerous schemes he launched for the poor, women and farmers in the state reaped rich dividend. The schemes he launched for the girl child especially made him popular among women voters. The same can be said to be true for the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh. Dogged by Naxalite problem in the state, the government worked for the poor and tribal people and came out victorious in the elections for the second time. Earlier, Narendra Modi had also proved in Gujarat that elections can be won on the development agenda. The second myth that the outcome of the state-elections destroyed is that only charismatic figures with a gift of gab can earn votes for the party. Barring Sheila Dikshit who uses media very well to her advantage, the other two Chief Ministers who managed to retain their states are not any ‘charismatic figures’. On the other hand, they appear humble to the core. They don’t like to use a single bad word even for their ardent critics to win elections. Unlike Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who lost the elections mainly due to her upper class society perception and high-handedness, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh keep low-profiles, are down to earth and have a man-next-door image. Despite having to fight high-profile leaders like former CMs Uma Bharati and Ajit Jogi in their respective states, the two men never lost their dignity and composure in times of adversity and political mud-slinging. Instead of going with the ‘charismatic leaders,’ the voters chose leaders with humble dispositions. To some pollsters, the results may be baffling but the outcome is a lesson for every political party. Despite having sizeable portions of population who don’t have proper education, the voters of these states have shown great political maturity. The way people exercised their franchise this time shows that political parties can no longer take people’s vote for granted. People can’t be fooled anymore. It can safely be said that results in the four state elections, which were widely considered as the ‘semifinal’ before the general elections, is a victory of Indian democracy. It gave a clear message to the political classes, cutting across party lines that people can no longer to be misled. They will only vote for the government which will give them credible governance, not lip service. Though it’s too early to say that the same will be repeated in the future elections in India, the trend is, at least, positive for a democracy and political system against which people have shown their anger and frustration after Mumbai terror attacks. Ultimately, it’s the people who can make the politicians accountable by exercising their franchise judiciously.