Didi, Amma’s finest hour

On the other hand, despite a consolation win in Puducherry, the decimation of the Congress in the polls was complete as BJP made a historic entry as the ruling party in politically significant Assam.

However, the person of the poll was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who overcame a biased media campaign, fake sting operations and an unprecedented Left-Congress alliance to lead Trinamool Congress to a second term in the office with a bigger margin than the first. The highlight of the day was the Left being relegated to the third position behind the Congress. Given their performance, it’s unbelievable that the Left had an unbroken run of 33 years in Writers Building (the seat of West Bengal government).

The other person to put-up a heroic performance was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who caught the psephologists on the wrong foot, winning a consecutive second term in the office for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (AIADMK). For the Congress, the biggest loss was Kerala, where the party was expecting to retain a toehold but failed to put up even an admirable performance in face of a resurgent Left. BJP’s progress in Assam was result of a marked departure from their poll strategy in Bihar. 

In the first signs of course correction, BJP declared a Chief Ministerial candidate in Assam, something which it had not done in earlier polls. It’s to the credit of BJP strongman Ram Madhav, who overcame resistance of the state unit, to tie-up an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad and encashed on the on the sentiments against the Bangladeshi immigrants. During the campaign in Assam, immigration emerged as the biggest issue and with mascots of students’ movement of the 1980s — Sarbanand Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Praful Mahanta on its side, romping home became easy.

On the other hand, the Congress despite losing state Assembly polls one after another seems to be learning no lessons. Having got a share of prize playing as 12th man in Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance in Bihar, the party has done little to find its lost moorings among the voters. It’s now left with government in just seven states, of which Karnataka is only politically significant at national level. This southern state too goes to polls in 2018.

However, BJP’s non-relevance in the politically significant states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, shows their isolation in the absence of Assam-like polarizing regional issues. In Kerala it did enter into an alliance with Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena, a front organisation of the Ezhava community but it fared no better than getting one seat in the state, with party veteran O Rajagopal finally making the cut and winning a poll after a string of defeats.

In West Bengal, despite all the hoopla around its campaign it has managed just three seats in the 294 member house. In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry it failed to open its account.