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The bypoll results reflect trends that appear to be of a “certain significance” and show a decline for BJP.

BJP’S BYPOLLS

On the recent by-elections, the CPM’s People’s Democracy says that, having been held in states that are among the most populous and that command a significant presence in the Lok Sabha, the results reflect trends that appear to be of a “certain significance” and show a sharp decline for BJP.

“While the entire national media commented upon the rapidity and the extent of such erosion soon after the general elections, the BJP is drawing some solace from the fact that it entered the West Bengal assembly alone for the first time,” says an editorial, attributing the BJP’s performance in the state to the ruling TMC’s “politics of violence, terror and intimidation”.

“Thus, the cat is out of the bag. In earlier editorials we had mentioned the RSS/ BJP’s ‘forked tongue’ politics pursuing a diabolic agenda… the issues of ‘development’, ‘Gujarat model’, ‘achhe din aane wale hain’ on the one hand for public consumption and on the other, the sharpening of communal polarisation and violence as the real methodology for reaping electoral benefits. This is all the more apparent once again…” it adds.

The editorial concludes that the danger is that such defeats are “leading to the consolidation of… the hardcore Hindutva agenda as the only sustainable basis for the RSS/ BJP’s continued governance in national politics.”

COMMUNAL BAIT

Also focussing on the bypoll results, the CPI’s NewAge claims that “the disenchantment of the masses with the Narendra Modi-led NDA is gaining ground”. “The process that started with the total rout of the BJP in the by-elections to three assembly segments in Uttarakhand has got further strengthened,” an editorial argues.

“The results from UP are more significant as the BJP continued with its tactics of communal polarisation and was expecting to repeat its parliamentary performance… The electorate, not only in UP but elsewhere too, showed significant maturity. In the background of the total failure of the Modi government in curbing price rise and corruption, the two issues that formed the main planks of the parliamentary poll campaign and its shameless spree of concessions after concessions to corporate and multinationals, the people refused to fall prey to the communal bait,” it claims.

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The editorial adds that people can be “misled for a short while by raising emotional issues but it is the real socio-economic issues that will ultimately determine their political choice”.

Compiled by Ruhi Tewari