B I Saini 
What is happening in Rajasthan shows once again that the BJP’s sole objective is power and power alone. This is crystal clear when one looks at how the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 and how it has been consolidating its position over the years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The BJP came to power in 2014 riding on the wave created by the India Against Corruption, IAC, movement led by Anna Hazare. There is no doubt that India as a whole came out against corruption during the years leading up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. A perception was created that corruption under the Manmohan Singh- Sonia Gandhi led United Progressive Alliance, UPA, government reached levels never crossed earier in the country.
The worst ever electoral show by the Congress in the 2014 elections was followed by more setbacks for the party, which has ruled India for most part after the country gained freedom in 1947.The Congress lost state after state in local elections and it had no footprint over large parts of the country.On the other hand, all this while, the BJP has been gaining state after state. The party won some elections but in other states, it gained power by either sidelining the Congress, through means, fair or foul, or by hitching up alliances with regional political parties or satraps.
The Congress was slow to respond and lost state after state. Its only real fightback, under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, came in the state Assembly elections in Gujarat and the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, and to a lesser extent in the southern state of Karnataka during 2017 ad 2018.The BJP lost power in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. It was, no doubt, a setback for the party, and disrupted its unbeaten streak of electoral wins since 2014.
But what the BJP lost in the polls, it has been winning back through hook or crook. The party resorted to defections to come to power in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. It appears to be trying the same trick in Rajasthan now, helped to a large extent by infighting in the Congress. It is uncertain if the Ashok Gehlaut government will survive the crisis.
All the while, ideological considerations have been given a go by. This is clear from the decline of the Left parties as well as the so-called secular and social justice parties.In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party have lost substantial ground. In West Bengal, the BJP is posing a tough challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress. The party has become the main opposition, displacing the once mighty- Left parties and the Congress.In the North-east, the BJP is now in power in several states. Earlier, it used to have a presence only in Assam.
As of now, there appears to be no prospect of any real challenge to BJP’s relentless march to absolute power. The Congress is a poor statement for a party, which claims to be the main opposition. The regional parties are also on the decline, except for the south of the country.Unclear if the opposition parties would be able to put their act together, despite the opening provided by the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo’s failures on the economic and foreign policy fronts.
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( Political Analyst)
