- Command now in the hands of Modi-Shah
- Capturing opportunity will be challenging for Congress
Pankaj Pathak, Bhopal
It is now a well-known fact established in Madhya Pradesh that the Bharatiya Janata Party is not at all in a very comfortable position in the upcoming assembly elections (2023). Whatever its leaders may say in public, but internally they know that like last time, this time also the path is full of thorns. That is, from the last assembly election (2018) to this assembly election, in these five years, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in an uncomfortable position. Those who deeply understand the politics of Madhya Pradesh also believe that from the last election till this election, an atmosphere of anti-incumbency is prevailing in the state.
There are many reasons for this. The biggest reason is that in the last 20 years the development of the state did not happen as it should have. The period of 20 years is such a long time that in this one state can develop and present an example in front of the whole country and can be seen in the eyes of the whole country. If it were so, even the opponents could not deny this achievement.
Secondly, nothing special has happened in this state for Hindutva, except Mahakal Lok. After the creation of Mahakal lok, as soon as a storm broke out there, the scene of destruction became visible. This sent the opposite message. Apart from this, corruption is also an issue. After the formation of the BJP government in 2003, there was no difference in the style of administration. In fact, Madhya Pradesh achieved a high position in the country in terms of free schemes. There is a lot of anger among the middle class taxpayers about this, but they remain quiet.
Not only this, the suffering people suffered in the tragedy of Covid-19 has not ended yet. The manner in which the BJP wrested back power from the Congress after losing the last election, is also not in the interest of the ruling party.
No matter how defection is done for power, it cannot be called moral in a parliamentary democracy and a clean system of elections. In politics, the sense of service and moral values are at the top, but no party of the country is milk-washed in this democracy. In the Municipal Corporation elections, BJP had to face heavy defeat in areas like Gwalior, Jabalpur and Singrauli. It means that the attitude of the public and the weakness of the organization can be understood from this. Former minister Deepak Joshi, son of former chief minister Kailash Joshi, had to leave the party and join Congress due to factional politics.
Taking lessons after heavy defeats in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, BJP has changed its strategy in Madhya Pradesh. In this way it wants to rule out the possibility of being inside. But the BJP’s central leadership has also sensed the mood of the voters. This is the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been visiting Madhya Pradesh continuously for the last two months. In a way, Amit Shah has taken the command of Madhya Pradesh elections in his own hands. The statement given by him in Bhopal last Sunday, August 20, 2023, while presenting the report card of 20 years of Madhya Pradesh government, clearly shows that the high command is putting full force on the strategy of victory and it has to win this election at any cost. And he is also understanding that the situation is very critical. That’s why Modi-Shah have taken charge of Madhya Pradesh and its effect is also visible. Amit Shah’s warrior posture in the above program is proof of this. A proof of his warrior avatar is that he answered even simple questions of journalists in a very aggressive manner. Sitting on the dais, Chief Minister Shivraj and State Home Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra were in a very serious posture. But State President Vishnudutt Sharma looked comfortable. Shivraj’s speech lacked the enthusiasm of the previous years and the famous theatrics were also not visible from any angle.
But it is not so easy for the Congress to turn the tide again in its favor. Anyway, last time Congress had a weak majority, BJP took advantage of that. Instead of the image of the candidate, instead of the image of the candidate, the BJP high command has decided not to repeat the previous mistakes and has started implementing it. This is the reason why the BJP has surprised everyone by announcing candidates for 39 out of 102 defeated seats three months in advance and has challenged these candidates to win. On the other hand, Congress itself will not spoil its game by declaring it as expected so soon. It will announce the candidate in a leisurely manner, so that the dissidents do not get more opportunities. Even so, the tradition of releasing the list long ago in the Congress
This whole scenario is extremely auspicious for the weakened Congress. Here is a comment by Digvijay Singh, which means- If not this time, then never! But the BJP is serious about its rival. Amit Shah took the name of Kamal Nath several times in his address. Along with Kamal Nath, he named Digvijay Singh ‘ Mr.Bantadhar’, which shows that he is taking him very seriously. Which is also fine, because whatever be the position of the Congress, it can give a good fight. Anyway, it is the only major opposition party and since 1990 in Madhya Pradesh, there has been a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. If there is a public trend and the weakness of the BJP continues, then this situation can act as a lifeline for the Congress.
