Why The BJP Underperformed In This Election
A Mix Of Hubris And Ineffective Opposition To The Opposition
Introduction
It’s probably a bit late to be writing this, but better now than never. I have been meaning to write this earlier but other things got in the way.
Even though the BJP has won the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the margin of seats is so low, that they may not be able to complete the entire term of 5 years.
This is almost like a victory for the Opposition, who have managed to get almost the same number of seats as the BJP, but without doing anything to deserve it.
BJP’s Hubris
I think everybody bought the BJP’s claims of securing 400+ seats by itself. Part of the reason why it failed to accomplish this can be found in how this was messaged.
Everybody in the BJP claimed that they would get 400 seats, forgetting that it’s not for them to take. The people need to give it to them.
Modi did talk about ‘Janata Janardan’ or ‘The public is God’ but this was after the results came in.
It was too late to put the voter at the forefront. A lot of them had already voted against the BJP.
This was surprisingly uncharacteristic of the BJP. Their messaging is always humble towards the voter but this time it looks like they forgot all about voters till the results came in.
This doesn’t mean they didn’t work for the voters. They did, but failed to mention the voter when it really mattered.
Due to the recency effect, some voters might have voted against the BJP due to its ungracious omission of the voter and their hubris in appearing to hint that they could win 400 seats without the voters.
BJP’s Marketing
The BJP is good at marketing the work it has done, but they should probably do better.
Other Reasons
Other reasons for BJP’s poor performance would be the anti-BJP propaganda engaged in by the Opposition, who are probably schooled in this by anti-India forces such as the Chinese government and surprisingly, even the governments of some friendly nations and their stooges.
This seems to have influenced some voters.
The BJP’s approach to this propaganda is to act like it’s ‘water off a duck’s back’. They prefer to ‘let their work do the talking’.
This has worked for them for the last 10 years, but has failed them now.
The Way Forward
Assuming the BJP completes the full term, if they have to have any chance of forming a government in 2029, they need to correct course.
They would have to take the propaganda of the Opposition and its masters head-on. A small step in this direction was the Indian step of renaming places in Tibet.
This is an effective counter-measure to the Chinese practice of renaming places in India. Such measures must continue.
Conclusion
The BJP also needs to market their accomplishments more strenuously and highlight voters in their messaging at all times, especially just before elections.
Failure to do this might fulfil Rahul Gandhi’s aim of becoming the PM, not because he did enough for it but because the BJP didn’t do enough to prevent it.