Alarm bells for regional parties

New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi jacking up the BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana towards wins, alarm bell has begun ringing among regional parties.

With the BJP getting majority on its own in Haryana and emerging the single-largest party in Maharashtra, the saffron party seems on the way to become a dominant national party.

The BJP, which won 123 seats in Maharashtra, also scored a major feat, that of winning more than 100 seats, which is a first since 1990 state elections. In the process, the BJP also succeeded in dwarfing its former senior ally in the state, the Shiv Sena.

That the BJP has placed itself in the driver’s seat in Maharashtra, where the party looks set to have its own government, clearly signals decline of the dominant position of the regional players.

Incidentally, Maharashtra and Haryana had benignly nurtured regional parties the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, the Shiv Sena and the Indian National Lok Dal, who, invariably had played key role in the formation of governments at the Centre since 1990s.

Political observers believe that the BJP has replaced the Congress in these two states with stronger electoral might and the saffron party would be emboldened to seek further expansion in those states where regional parties have been dominant.

The next stop for the BJP would clearly be Bihar which, again, has been a strong turf for the regional parties the JD(U) and the RJD. Bihar, set for the much awaited state elections next year, would give a decisive signal if the BJP can really keep the regional parties in check if it were to win elections there despite the grand alliance of the JD(U)-RJD-Congress, political observers stated.

However, it’s still early days to say if the days of the regional parties are numbered, as despite a stellar performance by the BJP in Maharashtra, the party will need the support of other party to form the government in the state.

Furthermore, the Trinamul Congress in West Bengal, BJD in Orissa, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, TDP in Andhra Pradesh, TRS in Telangana and Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab are firmly rooted to be dislodged by a national party.

And, hence, political observers believe that even though the regional parties have reasons to be alarmed the BJP will have to work really hard to put up party infrastructure to take on parties, who draw strength from their strong linguistic linkages.

However, the BJP’s success in Maharashtra despite a strong Maratha leader does indicate that Mr Modi’s spirited development oriented campaign can break the barriers of the local issues for a national party to win. The same holds true for Haryana where the BJP raced to a convincing win without a Jat face in the state.

The recent byelections, where the BJP had seen reversals in a number of the states, were surely different from Maharashtra and Haryana polls, for the that Mr Modi campaigned to the extent of carpet bombing.

So, the observers believe, the BJP is on the upswing due to Mr Modi as a campaigner, who looks enjoying success for having no competitor to match his skills.

Thus, Maharashtra and Haryana seen along with Lok Sabha elections signal emergence of a strong national party on the lines of the Congress in its glory days. Also, political observers believe that the BJP when challenged by fractured opponents is unstoppable in North and western parts of the country.