In the 2014 General Elections, the BJP came to power with a sweeping win in the three ‘Hindi heartland’ states – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Less than six months ago, the BJP lost the assembly elections in all these three states to the Congress. Will Prime Minister Modi’s popularity carry the BJP over the line in this general election?
In a BloombergQuint panel discussion, Rajan Mahan, Professor from University of Rajasthan; Lalit Surajn, senior journalist from Chhattisgarh and Abhilash Khandekar, former editor of Dainik Bhaskar Madhya Pardesh discuss and deliberate on this topic.
How Will Agrarian Crisis Affect the BJP in the Lok Sabha Elections?
Talking about the agrarian crisis that happens to be one of the most pertinent issues that swayed votes in favor of the Congress in the last assembly elections, all three panelists deliberated on how this matter can be extrapolated to the performance of BJP in the Lok Sabha Election.
Focusing on Rajasthan, Professor Mahajan specifies that the anger amongst farmers was not only against the state BJP government, but also against the central government. Although the centre had promised an increase in the rise of the minimum support price (MSP), the purchase of those crops was not happening to an adequate amount. Therefore, the central government is to be blamed as much as the state government.
When it comes to the state of Madhya Pradesh, although the Kamal Nath government scrapped Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s flagship farmer scheme, Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, Khandekar is of the opinion that even the Congress has not been able to do a great deal for the farmers since they have come to power.
Taking Chhattisgarh’s case in consideration, Surajn believes that there was a feeling of huge anti- incumbency against the BJP government in the state which led to the end of it’s 15-year rule and that might as well be reflected on the saffron party’s performance in the general election.
Can the BJP Make a Comeback in Chhattisgarh?
Surajn believes that Raman Singh’s extreme involvement in important decision making such as choosing candidates for the election, choosing the leader of the opposition might be harmful to the BJP in the general election.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Reaction to Pragya Thakur’s Nomination
Incidentally, Pragya Thakur was arrested during Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s tenure and according to Professor Mahajan, Chouhan would have fielded a different candidate had it been left to him.
Rounding up the discussion, experts seem to think that while in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh the BJP might have an upper hand, Chhattisgarh will most likely see the dominance of Congress.
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