Challenges and opportunities before the ‘Modi government’

Lalit Garg

(The writer can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)

The results of the 18th Lok Sabha elections showed different scenarios. Even if the Bharatiya Janata Party did not get the absolute majority, even if the INDI Alliance stood as a challenge, Narendra Modi, becoming the Prime Minister of India for the third time, is moving ahead with more strength, determination, and will to build a new and strong India than in the first two terms. The BJP may have suffered a loss in terms of seats, but it emerged as the largest party for the third consecutive time. The party has surprised everyone with its excellent performance in Odisha and Telangana. In Odisha, not only in the Lok Sabha, the party also broke the 24-year-old dominance of the Biju Janata Dal in the Assembly.

In the 60-member assembly elections of Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP has succeeded in forming the government on the strength of 54 percent of votes and a massive majority of 46 seats. At the same time, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh remain the strongholds of the BJP, while Modi is still the biggest and dominant leader in the country’s politics. He will continue to give the nation new wings of development with his surprising and unique decisions. The BJP should review and ponder the reasons for getting fewer seats, accept the reasons for its defeat with ease and generosity, and remove the mistakes that led to fewer seats.

The role of the Election Commission in conducting this election in a planned and effective manner was commendable. Even though the INDI Alliance had tarnished the country and democratic processes by questioning the impartiality of EVMs and the Election Commission, the election results have not only shattered such misleading statements and myths, but have also restored the vibrant, pluralistic, secular, and healthy democratic image of India. The left-jihadi-communalist political group that blindly opposes Prime Minister Modi has left no stone unturned in its nonsense blabbering and anti-national conspiracy.

Despite this, the election results have been satisfactory in many ways for the constituent parties of the INDI Alliance. This election has become the harbinger of new life for Congress. Anyway, for an ideal democracy, it is necessary to have a strong opposition; this is what gives beauty to democracy. Indian voters have given the message to the INDI Alliance to play the opposition role effectively.

This time, the election results have also raised many questions in front of many political parties. The courts decide who will stay in jail. But Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had handed over the right to the voters to stay in or out of jail, the result of which was that AAP’s account was not even opened in Delhi ruled by him, while his party failed to repeat the miracle of Assembly Elections 2022 in Punjab and won only 3 out of 13 seats.

Who is Sharad Pawar’s political heir, and who is the real Shiv Sena? Are Maya and Mamta still powerful? This election started with many such questions. Some of these have been answered, and some are still pending. The kinds of results that have come have also raised doubts about whether economic reforms will continue in the country. Will the country continue to move on the path of development? What will happen to policy stability? Perhaps due to this doubt, there was a huge fall in the stock market. But these questions were answered to a large extent in the speech given by Narendra Modi at the BJP headquarters and in the meeting with the alliance parties, due to which the stock market also gained momentum and enthusiasm was generated among the workers of the BJP and the alliance parties.

The country is once again entering the era of coalition governments. Now it is a reality that, in view of the current mandate, forming a coalition government has become a compulsion for the BJP. Certainly, there is a big difference between running a government with allies with an absolute majority and running a government with allies in the minority. The question is being raised whether the BJP, which has taken big decisions in the interest of the country in two terms with an absolute majority, will be able to feel comfortable ruling under the pressure of coalition partners. But there is no doubt that the government under the leadership of Modi will move forward with strength and will give shape to its resolutions and plans. A coalition government is going to be formed for the first time at the central level of the country after 2009. In the past, Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have also run coalition governments efficiently and have also taken forward reforms.

Manmohan Singh has also run a coalition government for ten years, but it cannot be ignored how he had to bow down to undue pressure from allies many times. Atal Bihari Vajpayee also struggled with the challenges of a coalition government. But Modi’s circumstances are different. He is a master of politics, and Amit Shah is a player in political manipulation. Considering this, it is believed that the BJP and the NDA government led by it will be able to do their work successfully. Not only the government, but the major issues of the BJP will also be implemented. Whenever the BJP faces situations of undue political pressure, the government will find a meaningful way out. Anyway, the BJP is not far from the majority figure, so it is expected that it will be much easier for it to run the government with other allies, including the Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal-U, and Shiv Sena. Even after this, Prime Minister Modi will be running a coalition government for the first time.

 Although he is aware of the ways of running such a government due to working under the coalition government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, running such a government will be a new experience for him. But he is aware of the efficient running of the activities of the organisation while holding many posts in the BJP organization. Facing pressures from within the country and abroad, he has made India a power. When the world is facing an economic crisis, India’s economy is moving towards becoming the third economy in the world. His running of the coalition government will certainly give a new dimension to his leadership ability and political skill of taking everyone along. He has the political vision and skill to solve the country’s problems amidst challenges.

Coalition governments have some positive aspects as well as some negative aspects. The leader of coalition governments has to work in coordination with the constituent parties. The problem arises when the constituent parties start making unreasonable demands, try to bargain, or start doing politics of pressure to fulfil their narrow interests. To deal with these situations, the Modi government is already making efforts to include other independent MPs and other political parties in its fold. The allies should worry about the political and economic interests of their states instead of unreasonable demands and pressure, but while doing so, they should not lose sight of national interests. They should also ensure that the coalition government runs smoothly.

Certainly, the Modi government is facing challenging situations, just like ‘Pandavas’ faced complex situations in the Mahabharata war. Today, there is appeasement instead of Drona, corruption instead of Kripacharya, terrorism instead of Ashwatthama, ambition and immorality instead of Duryodhan, internal and global conspiracy instead of Shakuni, all kinds of disruptive forces instead of nationalism (linguistic, regional, casteism, communalism, selfishness, etc.), and fundamentalism instead of Karna. Along with this, there are extremely complex problems of inflation, unemployment, discontent, etc., and now India is trapped in them. Still, the light in the form of Narendra Modi will become more powerful in his new innings and break all these “Chakravyuhs” of India. Playing the most successful innings of his political life, he will once again show the negative and anti-national forces their place.