New hopes on the menu

Now that Narendra Modi has just won the biggest election in history, the verdict seems to be an intoxicating one, leaving behind narratives of personal attack and random slander. To us, the people of India, the totality of impressions has overtaken the underlying anxieties coupled with invigorated effectiveness. Modi is certainly a charismatic campaigner and with hope back on the menu, it is for us to witness how he handles this unambiguous but 'frightening' verdict. It is also important to understand the Opposition's stance. There were major upheavals and upsets including Amethi snapping its 39-year-old ties with the Gandhi family and handing in defeat to Rahul Gandhi who tried his best to cheer up his party workers by saying: "Ours was an ideological battle and the people chose the ideology of the BJP. I want to say thanks to the Congress workers who fought valiantly. Even today I want to say that no matter what anyone accuses me of, I will continue to reciprocate with love. Love is never defeated." True, love is never defeated, more so in mind and spirit! And "every experience shapes us and helps us grow, no matter how small it is." Rahul indeed put up a brave face after he lost both Amethi and India. Several heavyweights suffered losses including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sheila Dikshit, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Digvijay Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge who suffered first electoral defeat in his career, Ajay Maken, Shatrughan Sinha, Nabam Tuki, Veerappa Moily, Ashok Chavan and many others. Today, we stand at a juncture where certain moments, events and incidents in the life of India will shape its future destiny. In the context of Bengal, BJP's victory in Mamata bastion is more an ideological dream rather than an electoral win. And after May 23, an accomplished leader like Mamata Banerjee is quite aware of the daunting challenges that lie ahead. Even in the midst of this difficult fight that she has combated in an extremely long election spanning across seven phases, she has managed to retain some of her followers. But apart from the anti-incumbency, she has also had to deal with bitter infighting, massive erosion of organisation at the grassroots level and allegations of grim poll-time violence. What needs to be seen is whether this consummate leader is able to keep her flock together and shed the 'proverbial' backpacks and 'leave it by the River' as a fresh dispensation needs to be adopted to understand the people's narrative of politics and leadership.