India’s opposition parties are refusing to learn the lessons that will keep them politically relevant and provide better results at the hustings. Instead, like the proverbial ostrich, they are burying their heads in the sand and making excuses for their shortcomings. They blame the pitch, the umpire, the rules, everything else but their incompetence in a rapidly transforming scenario.
The latest example of this is the response to the results in elections of the BMC and other important corporations in Maharashtra. Even while polling was underway, sensing the way things were going, the Thackeray cousins began blaming the use of markers that had ink which could be erased after some vigorous rubbing with alcohol. The practice of marking fingers to identify those who have voted is a leftover from an age when other means of identification were not available. Ink can easily be done away with, as it now only has a symbolic role. But for the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress, that was the critical factor in their defeat!
The fact is that the identity politics of the last century that was initiated in the then Bombay by Bal Thackeray is no longer the deciding factor. In fact, seeking to replicate it in present day Mumbai by arousing passions on compulsory use of the Marathi language, for instance, only created a smokescreen that fooled nobody but the Thackeray’s diminished followers. The BJP, which has won handsomely, persistently pushed the development agenda by counting the number of projects that have been completed for the benefit of the city’s people. And it worked!
Even now the Thackerays are refusing to accept that the fundamental mistake was to betray the ‘saffron’ camp for the sake of personal ambitions. Their cadre understood this better and stepped away with Eknath Shinde. If the Sena (UBT) wishes to remain relevant, it must reconsider its entire strategy and go back to the grassroots with a more sustainable agenda.
As for the BJP, the results have been a reiteration of support for the Fadnavis led government, accepting the three-engine ‘sarkar’ model that functions in other states. This faith must be retained through continued and enhanced effort.
Another important message is that the BJP is throwing up leaders that can deliver on their own and not be so dependent on the Modi factor. As is the case with Yogi in UP, and Hemant Biswa Sarma in Assam, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is now a contender for the top post at the Centre, when the time comes.
