Credit for yesterday’s results largely goes to Brand Modi. But it would be short-sighted to not acknowledge BJP Ltd. By all reckoning, it was trailing in the soft sand of anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh, under the Bhupesh Baghel administration, was also not quite Planet Modi for the taking. As for Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot seemed to tell us that everything that was a problem (read: Sachin Pilot), he had got it under control. BJP being a party that doubles down in the face of a challenge, did double down. The rest, as they say, are poll results.
Legacy works both ways – as brand equity and overweight baggage. For Congress, legacy amounted to both its May 2013 Karnataka election victory as well as to its older taken-for-granted heritage. Unfortunately, for the party, legacy doesn’t win you elections. Which returns us to the point of INDIA in the more expansive Lok Sabha elections space. This round of state elections may not be a ‘semi-final’ – the analogy, when applied to the recently concluded cricket World Cup, certainly won’t bring ra-ra to BJP-supporting cricket fans – but it certainly will bring a valuation rethink in the Opposition camp when it comes to weighing Congress’ worth. And here, Telangana notwithstanding, we should see some ‘market correction’.
