NaMo 2.0: Nation overwhelmingly votes for nationalism, security, anti-Pak rhetoric

New Delhi: Has aspirational India changed towards Hindu India? If BJP's stupendous electoral triumph across the country and in West Bengal is anything to go by, the nation overwhelmingly voted for majority nationalism, security and anti-Pakistan rhetoric.

The BJP-led by Modi completely evaded issues of unemployment, price rise and everything related to economic hardship.

Despite attempts there were no takers for the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi's narrative on Rafale and economic issues. The nation rejected his slogan-"chowkidar chor hain". Instead India decided to vote for the "chowkidar", who it thinks is the ultimate saviour or protector of India's internal security.

In rally after and rally, Modi and BJP president Amit Shah's major thrust was on the line ‘Hindu khatre mein hain’. They did not say it in so many words but the signal was clear.

Modi's trip to Kedarnath before the seventh and the last phase, sitting inside a cave in a saffron robe went on to show that this leader was openly wearing his religion on his sleeve.

This narrative created a tornado which wiped out Congress and the much-hyped mahagathbandhan. In Uttar Pradesh, the Hindutva ruled clearly over the caste cauldron of SP-BSP.

The polarisation actually hit bulls-eye in West Bengal. BJP was on the verge of winning the same number of seats as the Trinamool Congress. In Bengal, the party played the Hindu card to the hilt. The party went on an aggressive mode on the Hindu plank by holding sword-wielding rallies during Ram navami, accusing TMC chief and state chief minister Mamata Banerjee of spawning anti-Hindu sentiments and harping on illegal immigration across the Bengal border.

As BJP's Hindu card played havoc for the Opposition, it also needs to be mentioned that the rivals miserably failed to counter this strong narrative.

Regional forces like RJD, SP, and BSP failed completely to counter Modi. Narendra Their attempt to surround Modi and defeat him failed miserably. As psephologist, Yogendra Yadav said: "left liberals and intellectuals failed to read BJP's narrative".

Incidentally sensing that the party did not have much to show on the economic front, BJP immediately after the Pulwama attack took control of the narrative and changed the election plank to muscular nationalism and anti-minority rhetoric.

The possible victory of BJP candidate PragyaThakur, facing terror charges and out on bail over senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, goes on to show that aggressive Hindutva is working on the ground.

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