We should hope that ahead of elections, a non-Congress, non-BJP front emerges

By Raqif Makhdoomi*
This time the elections aren’t going to be a cake walk for the BJP, as have been for some past years. BJP had created smoke around itself which is slowly fading away. By-elections have to a large extent have asked BJP to do something else than Hindi Muslim issues. The Barat Jodo Yatra has done enough good to the Congress and has helped Congress to make a come back which it needed the most. Having a non-Gandhian President is also giving BJP tough times as they have to find something new to attack Congress which no more looks ancestral party. The BJP has lot more to do to find something to attract people.
The inter party conflict in BJP is also a factor that will effect it to a maximum level. Losing UP by-election is nothing but just the result of inter party conflicts. Yogi doesn’t have good terms with the people in the center and that resulted in BJP losing by polls. Nitin Gadkari doesn’t have good relations with people in the party and JP Nadda is himself locking horns with some people in the party. The state unit of MP has conflicts and that might result in BJP loosing MP.
Another difficult thing in this election is that there has been no violence in any of the poll bound area. So BJP has nothing to speak out about “Hindu khatra mai hai” . People are done with NRC , CAA, China, Pakistan and Shaheen bagh. But AMU pro Palestine protests and the arrests after the protests is something that BJP may use but that isn’t of the intensity as were the protests of JNU , which led to so big drama which continued for days long.
BJP is finding it so hard this time to get some burning issue that it can use in election campaigns in the poll bound areas. This time they can’t be using Article 370 either as it is not attracting people. The “Gow Mata” has also been allowed to rest. Dalits are finally allowed to live peacefully and are no more BJP’S prop for elections.
BJP can in no way use its achievements to ask votes as they have nothing to put forth . Prices have gone up. Simiriti Irani the drama queen with gas cylinder is nowhere . When Congress hiked the price of Petrol these people from BJP used to do drama on roads and when today price of everything is touching the sky they have pin drop silence to maintain.
With the formation of INDIA alliance is also that’s getting BJP worried. NDA is losing allies and it has lost it’s ally. A must thing to remember about the BJP won majority of the states is only because it has been able to rope in allies and this time the allies are bidding them a goodbye and joining the INDIA alliance. The recent defeat in Ladakh polls has made BJP sure of it’s defeat in Jammu and Kashmir elections, which aren’t going to be anytime soon because loosing elections in Jammu and Kashmir will put a big question on August 5th decision.
I am not a Congress fan neither do I want Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister because I see Congress more dangerous than the BJP. Congress will ruin you and you won’t even realize what happened. The only problem with BJP is that it isn’t able to maintain the balance which is very important and the Congress knows it. The actual culprit in the Babri Masjid demolition is Congress. If BJP was able to remove article 370 its only because of Congress. If Rahul Gandhi got suspended from the parliament its because he tore the bill that Manmohan Singh as PM has brought. NIA is the creation of Congress, UAPA is the creation of Congress, it’s just that BJP is using them aggressively and Congress didn’t. RSS was allowed to function after being banned by Congress. But at least the Congress allows the institutions to function and BJP has taken full control of the institutions.
As we are moving towards elections all we should hope that things go peacefully and a non-Congress, non-BJP front emerges.

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*Student of law

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