BJP for regional parties? Narendra Modi's sudden reversal for Mayawati, Mamata, Akhilesh is more tactical than anything else

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be trying to calibrate his goal and that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to create an India ruled solely by his party. free from interference by the opposition. Modi and his party started with the idea of ​​a "Congress-mukt Bharat", but expanded the scope of the idea to include the opposition in general.

In Andhra Pradesh, Modi became familiar with the initial theme during an election rally on Tuesday. West Bengal is doing well with Mamata Banerjee and the left, he said. Uttar Pradesh has no problem with Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav, he continued, but Congress will have to be banned from the country forever. Like many of Modi's statements, there was also the content of the imperial edict in this one. The question will, of course, be who gave Narendra Modi the power to hand out pbades to political parties or speak on behalf of Indian citizens and, by extension, the electorate. The simple answer is: Certainly not the whole nation.

In the political political arena, the BJP led by Modi was given the mandate to govern India for five years. It was a strong mandate, the BJP getting the absolute majority at Lok Sabha after 30 years of absence, but that does not mean that the whole of the "country" gives Modi the right to speak in his name.

Take West Bengal: the BJP got just under 17% of the vote and two of Lok Sabha's seats out of 42, barely the same support Modi could have imagined.

If the inhabitants of West Bengal agree or disagree with Mamata or not, they are able to resolve themselves. Even in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP won 71 seats out of 80 (nearly 90%), it won only 42.30% of the vote; across the country, he won 282 seats, but just over 30% of the vote. This is how the first-past-the-post system works, so that no one can complain. But vox populi? Well …

It was the glory of Modi and the BJP. The standard saffron does not fly almost full mast and is very irregular around the edges. Modi's stratospheric popularity or approval rating took a hit. In January 2017, it was 65%, according to the "Nation's Mood Survey" of India Today but in July 2018 it had dropped to 49%.

So it is highly unlikely that the opposition parties will hang around Lok Kalyan Marg waiting for approval to stay in the realm of politics. Before exploring this topic further, a brief digression is required.

The BJP and Modi's ideological and political mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), distanced themselves from the Indian slogan without a congress. In April, the head of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat, categorically rejected the slogan spread jointly by Modi and the president of the BJP, Amit Shah, saying it was "unsuitable" to use such language. "The edification of the nation can not be the work of one man. It must be inclusive and demand party contributions to power and power, "he said. The search seems to have been obvious.

It is in this context that we must attend the Modi recalibration exercise. Modi may have realized that electoral popularity could not be taken for granted. In any case, most people will realize that electoral fortunes are changing, as they must. If such an achievement changed Modi's style of operation, it would be a very good thing.

However, it must be said that Modi's sudden change of heart is probably not so much a Damascene conversion as a tactical change. Political observers pointed out that by handing out certificates to regional parties (with the exception of the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi, whose leader, K Chandrashekhar Rao, was also referred in his speech) while continuing to d & # 39; express the purpose of the cancellation of Congress, Modi was trying to sneak. the opposition and exorcise the "spectrum" that the BJP fears most – the unity of the opposition. According to media reports, BJP insiders said that Modi's message to regional leaders was not to badociate with Congress.

If this is true, he is quite infantile. Modi and his government have relentlessly used state institutions to harbad regional leaders. Mamata and Mayawati are among his most popular targets. Trying now to persuade them not to align with anyone is somewhat unreal.

Mamata, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and others may have legitimate grievances against Congress, but they will surely not turn to the BJP for tutorials in political management or survival. Be that as it may, some of the major battles in the states will take place either solo or through alliances in which the congressional contribution is minimal. Thus, in Uttar Pradesh, an alliance between the Bahujan Samaj party of Mayawati and the Akhilesh Samajwadi party will be enough to seriously jeopardize the prospects of the BJP. Thus, the Banerjee Congress in Trinamool will be held in West Bengal and will likely cancel the BJP on its own.

Given the current situation, it would not be totally unrealistic to read Modi's speech as an exercise. despair.