A regional entity, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has bounced back to power in the tribal-prominent state carved out of Bihar 20 years ago — and where the BJP ran governments repeatedly and also for the last five years, only to be thrown out in the assembly polls this time around. Hemant Soren took charge as chief minister, at the head of a JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government, giving the anti-BJP forces in the country a new hope. Clearly, the BJP is on a losing spree even as it won the last Lok Sabha polls in an impressive manner. It lost Punjab, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in assembly polls in November2018, six months before the Lok Sabha polls. Shortly before that, in May 2018, the BJP lost Karnataka – the only southern state it ever ruled – due to its failure to win a majority even as there were anti-incumbency sentiments at play, and the regional JDS of HD Kumaraswamy took power in association with the Congress. Only through a play of some games could the BJP get back to power in Karnataka. In other words, the people stopped short of giving the BJP the mandate to rule even as they denied the Congress a second term.
A similar scenario emerged in Maharashtra and Haryana after the Lok Sabha polls. BJP failed to get a majority. It struggled hard to form a government in Haryana, and was robbed of power in Maharashtra by its former ally the Shiv Sena and the NCP, in association with the Congress. It was a new regional party that came to the help of the BJP to retain power in Haryana this time. In other words, the writing on the wall is clear: while the BJP is not able to gain the confidence of the people at state levels, the Congress party has not been able to make any substantial gains from this. With both national parties losing their esteem in substantial ways the regional entities are coming to the fore. The Congress party can take some satisfaction from the recent polls, to the extent its principal rival, the BJP, has been put in a spot. Now, all eyes are on Delhi, where assembly polls are due in a couple of months’ time. Overall, the fall of the BJP in several states should be good news to the Congress; it’s only that the party is yet to show its fighting spirit. Even on the contentious CAA-NRC, the party stood on the sidelines.
