Break Up In Coalition

The assembly elections of 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir gave out a fractured verdict. It was the result of campaigning by both People’s Democratic Party (PDP) & Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). The PDP at that time campaigned in the entire Kashmir on the grounds that a vote for them would mean keeping the BJP out of Jammu and Kashmir and won 25 seats in Kashmir and 3 seats in Jammu region. Similarly, reminder calls of BJP leaders especially PM Narendra Modi that “kabhi baap-betay ki sarkar, kabhi baap-beti ki sarkar '' made the people in Jammu region vote for the BJP and the saffron party won 25 seats. But as results came out all rhetoric died and after two months of negotiations a coalition between BJP and PDP itself was formed. This moment added to Jammu and Kashmir’s long history where the parties in J&K state allied with the party in power at the centre (in 2002 PDP tied up with the Congress and in 2008 the National Conference  tied up with Congress). The former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed called this PDP-BJP coalition the “meeting of the north and south pole”. The reason outlined by the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to form a coalition with the BJP was an opportunity to bridge the gap between the people of Jammu and Kashmir regions. Although these ideological opposites met, they both moved on only with help of a document called the ‘agenda of alliance’. Like many, I too was stunned to see that coalition and for me election results reflected the divide between the two regions as both regions voted against each other. Many called this coalition a dishonest one and predicted that it was never going to work. 

In the past 3 years everything wasn’t normal for PDP- BJP and both were under intense pressure to preserve the state government. Both these parties tried to prove in their respective regions that they haven’t given up on their agenda of bridging the gap between both regions. Meanwhile, the PDP’s stronghold South Kashmir in these years saw so much unrest after the killing of Burhan Wani and almost every day gunfight between militants and security forces took place in other areas of the Kashmir region. Moreover, several workers of the PDP were also shot dead. With this all, the promise of bringing peace to the valley by PDP never became reality. Recently, the PDP suffered alot in the valley when BJP ministers attended rallies of the Hindu Ekta Manch demanding a CBI investigation into Kathua rape and murder case. However, the sacking of the two ministers (Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga) of BJP from cabinet was projected by PDP as a pacifying step but when the Kathua MLA Rajiv Jasrotia (involved in the Kathua controversy) was brought into cabinet by BJP the peacemaking efforts didn’t pay much for PDP. In addition to it, things didn’t become smooth for PDP because ever since Lal Singh was out of cabinet he started a full time campaign (appears to have support of party because senior leadership has fallen silent) by organizing ‘Dogra Swabhiman’ rallies and was demanding CBI inquiry into Kathua case even though accused has been arrested & the law should have been allowed to follow its course. Let’s not also forget the case within Kathua case i.e. when the brother of Lal Singh was arrested for abusing Mehbooba Mufti during a rally organized by Lal Singh for demanding CBI inquiry. Incidentally, all the steps taken by Lal Singh didn’t go well with the PDP cadre in Kashmir. Furthermore, the new deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta after assuming charge spoke of Kathua case being a “small incident” added to the anger of Kashmir people against PDP. This role played by BJP and its ministers somewhere deepened the divide in the allies.

On the other hand, the situation was the same for BJP in the Jammu region as BJP too suffered ever since this coalition was formed. BJP gave out many signals that showed that it was just playing a second-fiddle role in the government. Many times the PDP in the state government took decisions on issues (like setting up of new medical and technical institutions should be set up in Jammu or in Kashmir) which proved terrible for the BJP in Jammu. After seeing all this in the past 3 years, the BJP’s cadre was angry and felt that BJP was not in a position to assert itself in the government. Officially, many times I saw the BJP’s functionaries defending the coalition in spite of the fact that BJP failed to end perceived domination of Kashmir over Jammu. Not to forget that the Rohingya refugees issue in Jammu also exposed the intention of BJP as nothing much happened in the last 4 years of centre government. I feel that the BJP failed in its goals as even the promises of development and employment are nowhere visible on ground. While so much was happening yet the BJP preferred to stay silent.

This all was witnessed till 19th June of 2018 as BJP suddenly pulled out of the Mehbooba Mufti government and governor rule was implemented.  This decision of BJP could be entirely to regain ground in Jammu and Kashmir and across the country before 2019 general elections. Now the PDP is left in crisis as it has been alienated by its ally as well as by its voters in south Kashmir. After the killings of Shujaat Bukhari, rifleman Aurangzeb and failure of ceasefire initiative it was proved that all those who wanted to give peace a chance failed completely. The whole state of J&K is seeing some of its worst years since the 1990’s as a very different kind of politics after 2014 created deep polarization in the two regions. Both parties lost public goodwill and to save itself from further loss BJP withdrew from this coalition after 3 years.  Both the coalition partners in this time of conflict are now in a cover-up mode by giving various explanations of this separation. After all these years, the coalition between the PDP and BJP didn’t make any sense and only made Jammu and Kashmir more vulnerable.

Fuel On Fire

Whenever there is a rise in the prices of petrol and diesel a very strong resentment grows among the general public in India against the prevailing government for its failure to control the prices. Moreover, the leaders from opposition parties slam the prevailing government immediately. In the past 10 days there has been a consecutive rise in prices of petrol and diesel for which the Narendra Modi government has to face the public and opposition parties who all are demanding corrective measures.  Well, it is not something that is being only faced by the Modi government. I remember how before 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted the Manmohan Singh government for failure to control the prices of petrol and diesel. The BJP at that time has made up its mind that their road to victory may pass from a petrol pump and hence they very beautifully managed the protest series on social media against the rising fuel prices. At the end of the day, elections were to be won and there was this one easy method that was availed very well in advance. So I think in a way now this government is getting back what it gave away as an opposition. 

It is a known fact that the crude oil prices determine the fuel rates in our country. If we go back decades then in July 2008 international crude oil rates were $142 per barrel which made petrol and diesel in India to be sold at Rs 50.62 per litre and 34.86 per litre. In comparison to it, the international crude oil rates in May 2018 are at around $80 per barrel, but petrol is being sold at Rs 76.57 per litre and diesel at Rs 67.82 a litre. As I don’t want to further this ongoing ‘socio-political oil war’ in India, I would just say that analyze these above data of rates to understand as to who was right and who is wrong. Basically, despite a drop in international crude oil prices ever since the Modi government came to power, the fuel prices in the country were not reduced proportionately. It is as a result of this all that petrol prices have hit the highest level under the present government and diesel too is at record high these days.

Under the Manmohan Singh government, the prices of petrol and diesel were regulated and subsidies were given to ensure that prices were tolerable and fuels remained cheaper. However, inspite of the fact that the present government introduced the deregulation of retail fuel prices, the benefit of this step is not coming to consumers. With this all the question arises that where is the problem? Basically, the problem is “taxes” which are imposed by the government on petrol and diesel. Presently, the central government levies Rs 19.48 a litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. In addition to it, states have VAT the rates of which vary from state to state. If we talk of the J & K government then the government here is charging 21 % sales tax /VAT on petrol and 14.5 % on diesel. For this reason, these days when we pay Rs 80 for a litre of petrol out of it Rs 35-40 is going to the governments i.e. state and union.  This revenue generation for the governments via fuels makes it clear as to why the centre and state governments have kept petroleum products outside the GST (the idea of which was one nation one tax). The loss of revenue and profits is the reason that there is reluctance in the government to bring fuels under the GST as it will reduce the taxes that are levied these days.

Although the present government takes the credit for the fuel price reform after the BJP came to power but recently these fuels too got politicized when ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections oil companies froze the daily hike of petrol and diesel prices for almost three weeks. For obvious reasons, the government kept fuel prices in check during the Karnataka assembly elections but prices started shooting up as soon as the polls were over. This shows that higher petrol and diesel prices cannot be ignored from a political viewpoint in our country. Whatever move the government makes over this issue shall surely be interesting to watch in near future considering that the BJP is in power in 20 states, other state elections are coming up this year and even the Modi government does not have long time left in office.  I believe a permanent solution to this problem lies in the inclusion of auto fuels under the GST to bring uniformity of taxes on petrol and diesel otherwise the “fuel on fire” situation will keep coming as  has come after four years to confront the Modi government.

Stay United In This Divided Time

The unfortunate incident that happened with a minor girl in Rassana village of Kathua has brought two communities in Jammu region on a very rough road. This new issue all of a sudden took the shape of a conflict in Jammu and Kashmir and came into the world's attention. Tension in the Jammu region started building up slowly in the past 3 months when this incident happened at Rassana village. A kind of communal rift has also emerged in these months because some few people from both communities have been instigating this matter slowly but regularly. The sensitivity of the issue was already high but with this added instigation a totally polarized zone emerged within the Jammu region. 

This matter took negative shape when it was internally & silently backed by people from different political parties. Further the worst things started happening when the leaders of BJP went to address a rally of people in Kathua area lending their support only to one community. This started a trend and leaders across political parties started taking sides of one community or other and helped people to raise their voices over this tense situation. Suddenly the protests done against the accused and those done to shield the accused persons got mixed up and in turn created whole confusion. This was not all, some of the media people and social media platforms showed visuals of people carrying the tricolour and raising jai shri ram slogans as if this all was being done only and only to support and defend the accused persons. The international media too jumped into it and some of them termed all these tricolor carrying people as the new face of pro-hindutva supporters. I don’t know anything about the real intentions of these tricolor carrying people but I believe tricolour if used should only have demanded justice. However, many conclusions were drawn over this act of using tricolour.

On the other hand when this all was going on, the victim's family was facing humiliation as they were hurt and stunned to see people going against them after this brutal incident which can happen with anyone’s daughter. This negativity which has grown between both communities was created only by some elements that I think have succeeded in doing a permanent damage to peace in the Jammu region. This ugly situation has some contributions from advocates who tried to stop the police from presenting the charge sheet before the court in this case. It was such a move that gave anti social elements in Kashmir to further exaggerate the situation and in turn also brought countrywide condemnation for the lawyers in Jammu. This whole issue grew up when the J&K High Court Bar Association gave a call for Jammu bandh on April 11 by raising their four demands i.e. removal of Rohingyas settled in Jammu, revocation of the tribal affairs department directive, district status for Nowshera and investigation of the Rassana case by CBI. Basically, protesting over these issues together made J&K High Court Bar Association members appear as if they were "glorifying rapists”. Jammu region has always represented the secular fabric since militancy erupted in Kashmir but because of this single incident the secular factor of Jammu region has got affected. Now such is the state of suspicion in the Jammu region that the victim's family has demanded that the trial of the case be shifted out of J&K state. The suspicion is also on the working of the government and its machinery because a fulltime campaign is being held by various organizations in Jammu who are demanding a CBI probe into this incident. The government appears to have failed on this issue as both the communities do not trust each other as well as the government.

When this all happened I was forced to think as to why suddenly such volcanic type anger eruptions were seen in Jammuites. I am sure that somewhere the anger in the minds of Jammuites over the issues like; the demographic change in region, illegal settlements and a fear that land is gradually being taken by non-Jammu residents was used to manipulate the whole Rassana incident. Let’s not forget that ahead of an election year the flaring up of sentiments is not new in India and I assume that the same happened in J&K. In the end, I say it very clearly that the brutal and horrific crime was used by some to score personal points. Initially the sequence of events shown about the crime was different but as time went by many new narratives were added. Now the situation is such that you may find many groups of supporters over every narrative both in Jammu and in Kashmir. The trial in this case has begun yet there are many unanswered questions as to why, when, where and how this incident happened. I don’t want to comment over any such thing but I only want to say that we need to be rational and should put in no religious sentiments over an incident which has brought shame to the entire humanity. People of the entire state need to stay united in this divided time or else we live with divided hearts.

Jammu In A Test Mode

PDP-BJP when formed an alliance in J&K many questions were raised as to how this combination of political parties would survive. But both these political parties appeared dedicated at that time to go hand in hand to bring peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir. In order to ensure proper working, even an agenda of alliance was fixed to run the PDP-BJP government. Now 3 years have passed since this government was formed in Jammu and Kashmir and nothing much is there yet to celebrate out of this agenda of alliance. However, BJP with a ‘Maha Rally’ in Jammu celebrated 3 years of this alliance government. On the other hand, no such fanfare over this issue was seen in PDP.  Basically, the main idea behind formation of this alliance was to bring both Jammu & Kashmir regions close to each other. But many people by now believe that it could not be achieved under this government because unrest, militancy and fidayeen attacks which had been happening in Kashmir since last some decades are still continuing. 

Although in Kashmir region nothing much has changed but some recent events in Jammu region show that Jammu has changed under this government. It all started after the victory of BJP in assembly elections in J&K. People in Jammu region expected that BJP will now fight for the cause of Jammu. From the time when BJP formed government with PDP it slowly lost the political charm among Jammuites. People have started saying openly after 3 years that BJP has betrayed the Jammu region.  Basically, people are tired and are not able to digest why their representatives are not behaving as per their aspirations. Behavior of BJP has in a way put Jammu in a test mode.  The patience & sentiments of people in Jammu region are getting diluted as BJP has somewhere dropped its pro Jammu stand on many issues. In addition to it, there are some latest issues which have put BJP on a back foot. 

First is the issue of Rohingya illegal immigrants. Presently, the situation is such in Jammu region that people in Jammu don’t want to go into the legality or illegality of Rohingaya settlements in Jammu. They simply want that all Rohingayas should be sent back. BJP totally appears helpless on this sentimental issue of Jammuites. Although it is assumed by many that a congress leader has facilitated the settlement of Rohingayas in some areas of Jammu, yet BJP cannot escape its duty over this issue. Further, this issue once again gained momentum recently when a group of journalists were attacked near Rohingya settlements by local residents. This new development in a way showed that there are some people who are even supporting Rohingaya presence in Jammu. Moreover, this incident has further helped in spreading the hatred against Rohingyas in entire Jammu region.

Second is the issue of Kathua rape & murder case of a minor Bakerwal girl last month. This matter once again built a social pressure on BJP as many people in this BJP ruled constituency demanded a CBI inquiry into the rape and murder incident. This matter slowly got communalized to some extent & could have led to a dangerous situation in Jammu. Two serving state ministers of BJP even attended a rally organized in support of the accused in the rape and murder of minor girl. Interestingly, the PDP took an entirely different stance and similarly two of its ministers said that there should be no doubt in the investigative capabilities of the state police. So they in a manner snubbed the demand for CBI enquiry. This also has impacted the social and political image of BJP in Jammu.

Third is the issue of Nowshera-Sundarbani bandh for district status which paralyzed these areas for more than a month. This too is a BJP ruled constituency and this long bandh exposed the anger the people have silently developed against BJP. The fourth issue is the latest statement of Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in which he has informed the Lok Sabha that there is currently no proposal to scrap Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Perhaps by now some readers must be thinking that I am writing against one party but honestly the situation is against this party & being a Jammuite I penned it down. My write up has just compiled the facts to which BJP has put a brave face for some time. I know some may argue over these facts but I want them to basically debate it on a larger platform or soon the results could be quite different for the present political status of BJP.

On the whole the situation in J&K had been quite problematic for both PDP-BJP in the past 3 years. Jammu region appears as if it has no political power in the government because of BJP’s present working style. The BJP's hardline stance towards Kashmir suffered when the government of India appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir last year. The upcoming summer in Kashmir may make the situation deep & dark for PDP as a local newspaper shared that intelligence agencies have sounded a high alert about the possibility of unrest in the coming summer. And considering all of this I think the next year is very critical for J&K politically. Basically, I have a question in my mind & that is - can this alliance work post 2019? All in all BJP needs to treat its voters & supporters in a very true manner because social media campaigns won’t work for easing anger in people of Jammu region. For PDP I feel it is a herculean task in Kashmir as opposition parties there have played a role which has made way forward difficult for PDP. It is an apt time for both PDP-BJP to work over or else it will be difficult enough to convince the voters.

Burdened Roads

Every day when we go out to drive in and around Jammu city we never realize the intensity of moving traffic on roads around us. However, as soon as we get stuck in a traffic jam (which is witnessed at various places of Jammu city) we realize the steep rise in number of vehicles and of the traffic problem which has now already taken a chronic shape. Traffic problem in Jammu has started troubling everybody as thousands of vehicles are plying every day on Jammu roads. Moreover, it is said that every year almost 40 thousand new vehicles are being added on the roads of Jammu. Somewhere contributing to this problem are the mini-bus operators in Jammu who on a daily basis create a massive mess on the roads. They in turn are also facilitated by some traffic cops who turn blind eye towards these mini-buses. Basically, by now there are multiple issues which have cropped up in the past few years to take the shape of this traffic problem.

If we all simply try to find why such a problem has risen in the past some years,  then for me it is somewhere all because of people at the helm of affairs who could not analyse the impact of this rising traffic on the Jammu roads in the years to come. Firstly, we can clearly see that there is no growth of road infrastructure in Jammu city. We all can see that our city in the past 3 decades got only two flyovers which now could not serve the rising pressure of traffic. From this we can notice how the vehicles which kept growing on a day to day basis created burdened roads which mainly were never made to serve this level of traffic. It shows how the successive governments continuously ignored the need of new roads and flyovers for Jammu city. In fact, if I talk of the already debated flyover projects from the BC Road to Amphalla & Jewel to Canal road then it is an open secret that these projects were abandoned only due to political pressure for facilitating some influential people who may have suffered because of these projects. Hence, this problem of daily traffic jams on roads is visible now in a deep shape. 

Secondly, over these years we saw that most of the time the focus was on traffic management but this did not end the problem or either improved the deteriorating situation. In the past, when the questions were asked to the traffic police here as to why they aren’t able to regulate traffic in Jammu city, then the most common reply we got was that the traffic police here have a limited number of policemen and it becomes virtually impossible for the traffic department to manage all vehicles. This all made people quite disheartened & at times quite angry towards traffic policemen. Interestingly, in the past some days the Jammu people are showing high hopes and regards for these traffic men in Jammu. These days a new phase has started wherein steps are being taken to get rid of this traffic problem. Suddenly, this all is because of the new IG of Traffic, Basant Rath, who is putting all his efforts to simplify things on roads here. The new IG has already pulled up lower ranking traffic cops on duty to regulate traffic strictly at all important points in & around the city where we see traffic jams on a daily basis. Not only this, he has also launched very strict drives to educate masses to follow traffic rules so that the problems of rising traffic can be regulated. Despite severe criticism by some people including some politicians he hasn’t stopped with his routine till now. Although I am also witnessing these efforts of the new IG, I believe that the solution of this chronic problem is not possible without the support of people.

Thirdly, in addition to it no long term measures were adopted in order to provide a parking area for the growing number of vehicles in the city. Resultant of this was that parking areas kept shrinking in comparison to vehicles on roads. In this aspect, the planners appeared lacking behind & no control measures were adopted by providing new parking structures. Presently, to deal with this problem of rapidly growing vehicular population it is required that parking infrastructure should be developed in Jammu. Growing number of vehicles with no road infrastructure and very less traffic management done in absence of parking spaces added to the problem on the roads in Jammu. If we don’t work on these all issues to settle this traffic problem then the Jammu city will witness total disorder in years to come. By witnessing traffic being regulated at the hands of an officer of the rank of IG, personally I think this is the last resort for solving the problem of traffic. Finally, it should be taken as a warning that the traffic problem on roads in Jammu has reached its threshold limit and without working on these multiple problems we won’t be able to ease the burden on roads.

Revisiting Democracy Via Panchayats

2018 has already started and all political parties in J&K are now preparing for their first political test of the year. Yes, I am talking of panchayat elections for which all parties have geared up and a drive for it has begun in Jammu and Kashmir. All political parties in the state have set their eyes on these upcoming polls because it is believed that very shortly these polls may be announced in the state.  In our democracy, these panchayats play a vital role in taking forward the all-round developmental agenda of the governments. Now if I talk of the political importance of these elections in Jammu & Kashmir, then the results of this election will reflect the social standing of all political parties in J&K.

Before going further, let me remind you that it was after panchayat elections in 2011, the panchayats were constituted in our state and they have already completed their five-year term in July 2016. So by now, it must be clear to you that this institution of Indian democracy has suffered nearly for more than one and a half years in Jammu & Kashmir. This delay has already caused so much suffering since in absence of panchayats developmental works at the grass root level are totally neglected. Panchayat system in the state got unstable for many reasons and some of it was purely political. Till some weeks back it was believed that these elections were not a priority of the present state government. However, as the central government has blocked many grants running into crores to Jammu and Kashmir, the state government was forced to declare that these elections will be conducted soon.

It is pertinent to mention here that, though this election mood has erupted in past some weeks, a big amendment in the year 2016 was brought in the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 by the PDP-BJP government. With this change, now sarpanch of every respective panchayat will be elected by the panchs and because of this, elections are being held only for the post of panchs. Here I think that the PDP-BJP government has in a way created a new system within a system by changing the basic spirit of panchayats. This indirect election of sarpanchs in a way is being questioned by many as it has helped in reducing the accountability on the part of sarpanchs. It has also created doubt in minds of people over the intent of the PDP-BJP government. However, the present PDP-BJP government claims that this move is made only to make easy the election of sarpanchs and government is committed to empowerment of grass root level institutions. But overall this hasn't gone well with main opposition parties like National Conference & Congress because if we go back to 2011, the National Conference-Congress government then had gone for direct election of the sarpanchs. 

In spite of this all, when the panchayat elections process starts then I believe that this time Jammu region & Kashmir region will have entirely different social issues on which these elections will be contested by candidates. On one hand, in Jammu the Congress party is all prepared to corner the BJP over many issues. Basically, the slogan of “nationalism and integration” of BJP is going to suffer as the BJP approved to hold such indirect elections to panchayats. Furthermore, elections are being held without fully extending the 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution to J&K state. These all matters may very well be exploited by all the opposition parties based in Jammu. On the other hand in Kashmir, the situation is totally contrasted and no excitement by now is seen for this election there. The unrest seen after the killing of Burhan Wani has altogether changed the political ground in Kashmir of all parties. In addition to it, militancy in past some months has got glamorized through social media and result of which is that many educated youth are joining militants with the latest case of a PhD scholar of Aligarh Muslim University coming into limelight.  Finally, I may remind you that a provocative battle has started as militants in Kashmir have issued threats of throwing acid in the eyes of all those who contest these elections. It all doesn’t end here; even the Hurriyat leadership has urged the people in Kashmir to boycott these elections.

This time there are many factors which may influence these elections and political battles may heat up soon as days pass. These elections are like a gamble amid the tense political situation in Kashmir. Especially, at a time when the central government failed to conduct parliamentary polls in the home turf of PDP. But with assembly polls lined up this year in many states across India, it would be a key political matter for the BJP. Eventually our state will be revisiting democracy via panchayats & I hope something doesn't go wrong midway. Following all this, it will be quite interesting to see how these elections go during an atmosphere when discontent has grown against PDP-BJP in both regions.

Shadow Of Defeat

December this year is surely leaving behind a new political mood for many in India. This mood erupted firstly, when the 132 year old Congress party got its new president after the command of the party was handed over to Rahul Gandhi.  Secondly, this political mood was further boosted all over the country when the election results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were declared. Both these situations have now left both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress in entirely new circumstances. I believe that these newly erupted situations have forced both BJP and Congress to come on their toes.

If we talk of Gujarat elections then BJP though has retained Gujarat but clearly by winning fewer seats than in 2012. In the past 3 years the “Gujarat Model” was projected as a development model all over India but it is the same Gujarat which became a challenge for the BJP in this election. This is very obvious as BJP fell short of its official claim of getting 150 seats in Gujarat. Despite the fact that BJP has won, yet it appears that ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left Gujarat the state BJP leaders are not able to meet the aspirations and demands of the people in Gujarat. I am sure you must have seen how aggressively PM Narendra Modi campaigned in his home state and in spite of that came a narrow victory. Results now show that a swing of 10 seats would have made the Gujarat contest altogether a different game.

I believe that Gujarat results have left an internal unrest for the party chief Amit Shah as well as on the PM Narendra Modi. If we talk of Congress party and its performance, then Congress didn’t have much hope in Gujarat as it has been a fort of BJP for the last 2 decades. Since 2014, Congress has been searching for a victory and this search didn’t end even after Gujarat elections. But surprisingly, for the Congress the Gujarat result has left more hope out of this defeat. We shouldn’t underestimate Congress now onwards as Gujarat election is like a moral victory for it. I suggest to the BJP that it should stop making jokes on Rahul Gandhi and infact take him seriously as Rahul Gandhi with his campaign in Gujarat energized the whole election process. Moreover, the Congress on the whole managed to take help of many activists in Gujarat to improve their political performance.

Incidentally, I noticed that there is not much excitement in both these parties about the Himachal Pradesh election. It is all because of the people of Himachal as normally people in Himachal Pradesh don’t repeat governments and that is why the Himachal election is not being discussed with much fanfare. The results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have set political temper high for 2019 general elections in the country. The 2019 general elections were earlier assumed to go towards BJP in absence of strong political opposition in the country. But it is no longer an assumption and the BJP now has to improve their election strategy after the rise of the Congress party in Gujarat.

I think this performance by the Congress in Gujarat will soon energize all opposition parties to fight against the BJP. Despite these losses, the Congress under its new president Rahul Gandhi will start the race towards 2019 very soon. However, it would be a big mistake for the Congress party to start thinking that the performance in Gujarat is all because of the new Congress president. Congress took advantage of all mistakes done by BJP in a beautiful manner by focusing attention on particular needs of different communities in Gujarat. The other reason behind this performance of Congress is that the BJP government in Gujarat didn’t have any charismatic leader in the state. For me, only what Rahul Gandhi has gained after this performance is a certain degree of credibility and he could do really well by multiplying this credibility.

The stage though is set for 2019 elections but before that political atmosphere in the country will once again be heated after the election contests of 2018 in states like Karnataka, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The Congress has ruled these states and will definitely look forward to gaining ground once again before 2019 general elections. On the other hand PM Modi and his entire team will be under intense pressure to perform in these elections. It is because if any favorable outcome is seen for BJP in these elections then once again entirely the heat will shift on the Congress and other opposition parties in the country.  I am sure both parties will be adopting different tactics soon in order to swing enough sentiment in their favor before these elections. In these just concluded elections both the parties were finding themselves to be under shadow of defeat before results came out. Elections in 2018 will be once again the political battle between PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi. After all of this there will be some difference and maybe it turns out differently.