By the Editor: Siddharth Sehgal

 The recent election results were a surprise for many. Especially in Uttar Pradesh, where the rumor was that political change is inevitable and the Samajwadi Party will be back in the power corridors of Lucknow. This perception held ground even when Exit polls results came out, which clearly showed that the saffron party was about to get a clear majority. So what went wrong for the opposition?

 Firstly, the perception of safety and security that BJP was able to convince voters that it can provide from perceived mafia and criminals that will overtake the streets of UP, should Akhilesh come back to power. This perception is not entirely unjustified. Akhilesh in his last term was not able to contain the crime wave that swept across the state in his tenure. Land grab and eve-teasing were common complaints. Even though Yogi Adityanath’s government has fallen short on a lot of fronts but a clean and uncompromising image on crime gave him an edge over his competitors. The epithet, “Bulldozer Baba” worked in his favor. Samajwadi Party has baggage of supporting and tolerating thuggery and corruption which will prevent them from getting mass support in public. 

 Secondly, assuming that polarizing elections along the lines of caste and religion may not always go in your favor. The Samajwadi Party is perceived as a party of certain religious and cast communities which means other stakeholders may not be very interested in backing Akhilesh and the team. Thirdly, the secret recipe for winning I think was the beneficiary factor which silently worked in BJP’s favor. Giving free rations to poor and returning migrant laborers was an effective strategy that worked in BJP’s favor despite failures in governance such as Covid mishandling, unemployment, inflation, etc. 

 Lastly, I believe that people are not seeing any credible opposition or should I say a credible alternative to BJP at national and state levels. Regional parties are often mired in nepotism and Congress by and large has lost its appeal among the voters. Till the Gandhi family has a chokehold over Congress, it will continue its losing streak. Congress party is like an oligarchy where few elites hold on to leadership positions while party workers are expected to do the groundwork. Moreover, coteries and cronyism bring infighting which cost Congress two elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand which it could have won easily. But AAP holds potential for a viable alternative provided they do not run off the course and stick to the development agenda. They still have a long road ahead of them but there are a lot more issues where the country and society need a cohesive opposition to hold the government accountable but currently, it’s missing from the picture.