11-19-2007, 10:25 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP is stronger than what its support base indicates</b>
The growth of the BJP in different States has passed through similar phases as that of Karnataka. Be it UP, MP Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Himachal, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand or Orissa, it has been a story of rise and rise.
First, it was branded a Brahmin-baniya party. It had to show the number of SC/ST seats it won in various elections. Then, the image created by its opponents by labelling it a communal party fell flat in the 1999 Lok Sabha election.
When Mamata Banerjee entered into an alliance with the BJP, she fought the proponents of the communal label lobby by retorting that the party which gets five crore votes can't be termed as communal. The proponents, however, are still clinging to the theory.
In other southern States, to think of BJP being non-existent would be misleading. <b>In Kerala, the BJP's vote base of eight per cent is less than that of the CPM and the Congress but more than any alliance partner of LDF or UDF. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP support base of 12 per cent is better than Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, it hangs between five to seven per cent. Lakshadweep has a BJP MP</b>. If we count the weightage of national leaders, the party seems much stronger than what its support base indicates.
The BJP expects a quantum jump in the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Assembly elections. So far as Gujarat is concerned,<b> the media is hyper-active in trying to depict Narendra Modi as a demon.</b> It did so in 2002 too. But the voters delivered their judgement, ripping apart all media assessments.
<b>Even today when one meets a Gujarati anywhere, in India or abroad, he would tell you that Modi will win hands down. On being asked about the BJP rebels factor, Gujarat riots and the high voltage Congress campaign, he will tell you that the voter will not dither from his conviction</b>.
In fact, Gujarat's electoral battle has become a referendum on the leadership of Modi. Modi virtually has no real contender.
The anti-incumbency factor in Himachal Pradesh is insurmountable for the Congress. After these two Assembly elections, political climate at the Centre is likely to be affected. The morale of the Congress and the Left Front seems to be going downhill.
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The growth of the BJP in different States has passed through similar phases as that of Karnataka. Be it UP, MP Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Himachal, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand or Orissa, it has been a story of rise and rise.
First, it was branded a Brahmin-baniya party. It had to show the number of SC/ST seats it won in various elections. Then, the image created by its opponents by labelling it a communal party fell flat in the 1999 Lok Sabha election.
When Mamata Banerjee entered into an alliance with the BJP, she fought the proponents of the communal label lobby by retorting that the party which gets five crore votes can't be termed as communal. The proponents, however, are still clinging to the theory.
In other southern States, to think of BJP being non-existent would be misleading. <b>In Kerala, the BJP's vote base of eight per cent is less than that of the CPM and the Congress but more than any alliance partner of LDF or UDF. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP support base of 12 per cent is better than Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, it hangs between five to seven per cent. Lakshadweep has a BJP MP</b>. If we count the weightage of national leaders, the party seems much stronger than what its support base indicates.
The BJP expects a quantum jump in the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Assembly elections. So far as Gujarat is concerned,<b> the media is hyper-active in trying to depict Narendra Modi as a demon.</b> It did so in 2002 too. But the voters delivered their judgement, ripping apart all media assessments.
<b>Even today when one meets a Gujarati anywhere, in India or abroad, he would tell you that Modi will win hands down. On being asked about the BJP rebels factor, Gujarat riots and the high voltage Congress campaign, he will tell you that the voter will not dither from his conviction</b>.
In fact, Gujarat's electoral battle has become a referendum on the leadership of Modi. Modi virtually has no real contender.
The anti-incumbency factor in Himachal Pradesh is insurmountable for the Congress. After these two Assembly elections, political climate at the Centre is likely to be affected. The morale of the Congress and the Left Front seems to be going downhill.
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