BJP trumps caste politics, breaches Bengal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi roared back to power in a historic victory in which the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged more than 50% of the votes in 17 states and union territories. The enormous mandate — the BJP had won 210 seats and was leading in 93 more — meant the 68-year-old leader had become the first Prime Minister after Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to win a second consecutive five-year term with a full majority. The BJP’s stunning win pointed to a fundamental shift in Indian politics, in which old caste loyalties from the post-Mandal era appear to be no longer relevant.

“There are only two jaatis (castes) in India today — one is that of the poor, and the other is made up of those who want to contribute to take people out of poverty. There is no other caste,” Modi said in his victory speech at the BJP headquarters on Thursday evening.

Affirming that the vote for the BJP was one for aspiration and development, Modi said: “Those who wore the mask of secularism are today exposed, as the people have voted us back to power for the work we did.”

The party’s 50% vote share in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh meant the BJP trounced the caste-based grand alliance of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal, which had appeared to be formidable on paper. SP and BSP together got 37% of the votes, which was four percentage points less than their combined vote share in 2014.


The BJP was leading in 62 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, lifting the party’s overall tally to over 300, as the National Democratic Alliance approached the 350 mark.

The BJP’s victory spanned the length and breadth of the country with the party set to get MPs from 22 states, including West Bengal, where it secured 40% vote share.

Besides Modi’s charisma, his administration’s focus on welfare schemes for all segments of society consolidated the ‘gareeb vote’, and expanded BJP’s support base among women and first-time voters.


The other big lesson political observers drew from Modi’s win was the rejection of dynasty-based politics in the heartland. His ‘kaamdar versus naamdar’ campaign delivered results wherever the BJP was in the contest.


Congress president Rahul Gandhi himself lost Amethi while Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav failed to make any impact. Three members of the Mulayam Singh Yadav family lost the elections — Dimple Yadav in Kannauj, Dharmendra Yadav in Badaun and Akshay Yadav in Firozabad. The SP’s vote share fell from about 22% in 2014 to 18%.

For the first time in Bihar, Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, led by his son, could not open its account in the LS elections.

Decline of Satraps
The NDA had won 13 seats in Bihar and was leading in 26 till reports last came in.

The other big trend was the decline of regional satraps wherever the BJP expanded. In UP, Mayawati’s BSP may have gained a few seats with the help of SP, but the party’s vote share remained at roughly 19%. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee received a big jolt as the BJP was leading in 17 seats, just five short of the Trinamool Congress’ tally of 22 in the 42-seat state.


In Maharashtra, regional stalwart Sharad Pawar suffered a crushing blow in the second consecutive election with his Nationalist Congress Party ahead in just four seats. The BJP-Shiv Sena combine was set to sweep the state, leading in 41of the 48 seats as of press time.

The political shift towards a centrist, nationalist political force was further validated by the fact that only regional parties aligning with the BJP — Shiv Sena, JDU and Lok Janshakti Party — did well.


With 110 million members, the BJP as an organisation has taken the party-cadre relationship to a different level, posting a big challenge to any contender. The mantra among party workers is that they can add up to 2% votes to the Modi base through their efforts.

BJP president Amit Shah had concentrated all his might in eastern India, especially West Bengal and Odisha. The party was leading in 25 seats in these states combined. BJP’s vote share in West Bengal rose to 40.2%, just three percentage points behind Trinamool. In Odisha, the BJP’s vote share doubled to 38.4% from 19% in 2014.