Niharika Mandhana / WSJ
Modi Wave May Have Crested
In last year’s national elections, Mr. Modi overcame caste and class divisions – and trumped powerful regional parties – to win broad support for his promises of development. He made a similar pitch this year in Bihar – saying he would bring progress to one of India’s poorest states – in more than 30 public rallies.
His defeat by a wide margin shows that the aura of invincibility around the prime minister is fading and it has cast a shadow over the BJP’s plans to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds. The party faces a series of state elections in the next two years, including in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, in 2017.
Modi’s One-Man-Show Doesn’t Always Work
In all the state elections since Mr. Modi came to power, he has been his party’s chief campaigner. In most of them, the BJP has not declared a chief ministerial candidate during the campaign. The strategy appears to have failed in Bihar, where Mr. Modi’s development plank faced competition from Nitish Kumar’s reputation as Bihar’s “Development Man.”
Analysts say Mr. Modi needs to encourage a second-rung leadership to develop in the BJP rather than centralize power and influence. “Otherwise when the overflowing euphoria gets juiced out, like it has in Bihar, the party will have nothing else to rely on,” said Dipankar Gupta, an Indian sociologist and professor at India’s Shiv Nadar University. more
Modi Wave May Have Crested
In last year’s national elections, Mr. Modi overcame caste and class divisions – and trumped powerful regional parties – to win broad support for his promises of development. He made a similar pitch this year in Bihar – saying he would bring progress to one of India’s poorest states – in more than 30 public rallies.
His defeat by a wide margin shows that the aura of invincibility around the prime minister is fading and it has cast a shadow over the BJP’s plans to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds. The party faces a series of state elections in the next two years, including in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, in 2017.
Modi’s One-Man-Show Doesn’t Always Work
In all the state elections since Mr. Modi came to power, he has been his party’s chief campaigner. In most of them, the BJP has not declared a chief ministerial candidate during the campaign. The strategy appears to have failed in Bihar, where Mr. Modi’s development plank faced competition from Nitish Kumar’s reputation as Bihar’s “Development Man.”
Analysts say Mr. Modi needs to encourage a second-rung leadership to develop in the BJP rather than centralize power and influence. “Otherwise when the overflowing euphoria gets juiced out, like it has in Bihar, the party will have nothing else to rely on,” said Dipankar Gupta, an Indian sociologist and professor at India’s Shiv Nadar University. more
No comments:
Post a Comment