The results of the general elections were declared on the fourth of June, 2024. Despite efforts from the ruling party and the Prime Minister, the BJP could not secure a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won only 240 seats out of a total of 543 in the Lok Sabha. The threshold to form a government with a clear majority is 272 seats. The lack of a majority forced the BJP to rely on the NDA alliance again. During the election campaign, the BJP was too proud to even mention the NDA, but now they need allies to form the government. Narendra Modi has been selected as the member of the opposition and the Prime Ministerial candidate for the NDA, and he will be sworn in on the evening of the ninth of June, 2024. This will be his third consecutive term.
Though the loss of seats from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan is painful for the BJP, they are still content to form the government. The BJP has lost more than 50 constituencies compared to the 2019 election, but losing Ayodhya is particularly devastating for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and even the staunch supporters of the BJP.
More than any political party, it is the blind supporters of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who have suffered the most. These followers were nowhere near logical; neither did they condemn the unforgivable steps taken by the ruling government against major protests and violence against Hindus from Maharashtra to Manipur. It is rather good that voters at large chose logic, reasoning, rationality, humility, wakefulness, and above all righteousness, limiting the ruling party below the majority mark. The mandate given by the people of India to the BJP is huge but still not enough to be proud of. The BJP, with its allies, needs to reflect on this and work on it. India is a democracy, and any ruling party has only five years to govern. People can change their support if a party shows ignorance and arrogance at the top. A popular Prime Minister should not think he is immune to criticism or failure. The loss of Ayodhya and the losses in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh are major setbacks because the BJP claims a stronghold in the Hindi heartland. The people in these states pointed out that the BJP needs to listen to and act for them. They told the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that they will not tolerate ignorance and obstruction regarding their major local issues. The BJP did work on global issues, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented India on the world stage with a strong narrative that the New India is as independent as the US and China and as formidable as Israel if tested.
However, the people disapproved of the ruling party's tactics in dealing with three major protests during this tenure. The Kisan Andolan severely damaged Narendra Modi's image. The lack of decision-making and delayed response, which caused thousands of citizens to suffer on the roads, was a terrible tactic in a democratic state. Labeling its own citizens as terrorists and not coming to the forefront to address farmers' issues was the worst political failure of Modi 2.0. It took him more than 12 months to withdraw the controversial laws, and the withdrawal came just before the UP assembly elections. What if the elections were to occur another year later? Would citizens have to face more suffering? Is this what a popular elected Prime Minister would do when questioned?
Modi did not learn from that protest and ignored the sexual harassment charges laid against a BJP candidate nominated as the chief of the wrestling federation by women wrestling players. Modi never addressed the issue publicly or in a conference, nor did he approach the protesting players. Instead, the women sportspersons faced police charges, unpleasant media trials, and even manhandling. They were labeled traitors. People argued that the Prime Minister couldn’t focus due to his busy schedule and international issues, but he always found time to take selfies with the same women players when they won on the world stage. He probably preferred his own choices and stubbornness over citizens' sufferings. Above all, he never uttered a word against the accused.
Days before the elections, the famous educationalist and activist Sonam Wangchuk staged a peaceful protest to protect the environment and made some demands that entered the political realm. As a citizen of India and a resident of the Ladakh region, he stood for his land peacefully, hoping the authorities would listen to him. The Prime Minister never took the matter seriously. Sonam Wangchuk enjoys a good reputation in the area and is regarded as a social activist for his good deeds and initiatives for the land and environment. He went on a hunger strike for weeks and faced forceful measures, leading to the imposition of Section 144. He then canceled the protest, which was never a threat to the peace of the land but rather for its peace. Modi’s silence on the issue hurt many. The Prime Minister, who is so fond of sharing his views and listening to selective citizens every other week or month, was silent throughout this period.
The most regrettable act performed by Narendra Modi was the speech he delivered in Rajasthan, where he suggested that a section of his beloved citizens might act criminally if he were not retained in power. This is the conclusion drawn from his public speech. The Prime Minister should have refrained from uttering such words about his own citizens, regardless of their religion. The so-called Godi media picked it up, and blind followers hailed him for saying it in a public speech. Many opposition leaders and people on Twitter argued that Modi was losing the elections and playing his trump cards, showing his true colors. A few days later, Modi put all those who hailed him for the speech to shame by saying he had been accused of playing politics over “Hindu-Muslim” issues. An intelligent citizen would argue that the Prime Minister of India should not speak in such terms. Many Muslim-majority countries have shown him honor and red-carpet welcomes on his visits as the Prime Minister of India. That statement will never reflect well on the country, as PMs come and go, but India will always stand strong. That speech was a self-inflicted wound.
The loss of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh was already predictable for many locals. Khattar was becoming increasingly unpopular as Chief Minister of Haryana and lost his ground. The BJP was reduced to half its size in Haryana since 2019. No wonder the BJP will face a tough battle in the upcoming assembly elections later this year. The firebrand CM of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, was sidelined by central leadership. The BJP took decisions that upset the sentiments of the people of Uttar Pradesh, and the public did not like the way their CM was treated. The construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, which had been a political issue for decades, was completed under BJP rule. However, Hindu voters still did not support the BJP, handing them an embarrassing defeat. YouTube is filled with videos highlighting the plight of local residents unhappy with some issues during the temple’s construction. The Ram Mandir should never have been a political issue, and if it was, the livelihoods of local residents should not have been compromised. Food, clothing, and shelter are far more important for living, and every political outfit must learn this lesson from the BJP's defeat in Ayodhya.
The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal on corruption charges while Delhi was left without a government triggered some citizens to question the ruling party’s narrative. With Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia already jailed, Kejriwal's arrest just before the elections was questioned. Later, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal bail to campaign in the elections. Despite this, the BJP won all seven seats from Delhi, and Kejriwal couldn’t manage to win a single seat. However, the narrative was strongly condemned, and the BJP will face challenges in the Delhi assembly elections too. Educated youth saw this step as retrograde from the ruling party.
The loss of more than fifty seats might not stop the BJP from coming to power and granting Narendra Modi a third consecutive term, but it should prompt them to review their election strategies and to show more respect in dealing with local and national issues seriously.