In what looked like a mini-referendum on the political situation, India has expressed itself through electoral verdicts in 14 states. The ruling BJP tasted defeat in several of these fights while the Congress has proven that it continues to have an electoral heft in many states. Regional parties made their presence felt in and indications are that they are here to stay. Overall, it must be stated that the BJP has less to cheer though it did better than the Congress in various states.
Notably, in Haryana, a member from the Chautala clan who resigned his assembly seat in protest against the new farmer laws outwitted his BJP rival. It showed the mood building against the saffron party in areas where the farmer agitation was strong. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee continued with her electoral successes, winning all the four seats up for polls and giving a virtual slap on the face of the BJP yet again. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP proved it had the upper hand by winning two seats the Congress held and conceding defeat to the Congress in a seat that it had won in the last polls. In Telangana, the ruling TRS tasted a humiliating defeat in Huzurabad where the BJP wrested the seat by fielding former state TRS minister Etala Rajendar. In Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai had egg on his face as the Congress won the seat in his own political turf. In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSRC proved yet again that it is unassailable by winning the Badvel seat.
In the North-East, the BJP and its regional allies did very well. But, the sands here are slippery. The region and its outfits keep siding with whoever is in power in Delhi, which is a sane trend in that it helps in regional growth with more infusion of central funds – the reverse of the trend in West Bengal, where “fighting” the Centre is the main political agenda. In Assam three seats went to the BJP and two to its ally the UPPL of Bodoland. In Meghalaya, the NPP, a coalition partner of the BJP got two seats while the UDP which is a member of the ruling coalition – the MDA got one seat. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka were where the Congress demonstrated its strength and won over the BJP. Of the three Lok Sabha seats, Mandi in Himachal went the Congress way, while the Shiv Sena took Dadra and BJP has gained the upper hand in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, as counting headed for the final phases. Curiously, both the national parties have yielded a lot of ground to regional entities across the political spectrum. Regional satraps are here to stay. They are feeding on the incompetence of the national parties to capture the fancy of the nation.
