Why bjp lost 2004

US Elections World News. Rate Story. Font Size Abc Small. Abc Medium. Abc Large. While Modi delivered the macro wave, Shah delivered the tailwind and last mile. R Jagannathan The right place to begin an assessment of the return of Modi Sarkar to power in with a bang is Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost the elections by delivering more than he promised. Narendra Modi also delivered a lot, but a lot less than what he promised. It was the silent consolidation of the Hindu vote in many northern, western and eastern states, a kind of protest vote against the Hinduphobic narrative building against Modi and BJP during the last five years.

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The first signs of a possible upset came on Tuesday when the BJP's largest coalition partner in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh lost in regional elections by a land slide. Commentators said the virtual wipeout of the Telugu Desam party and the ejection from office of the state's chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, was an indicator of the rising anger in the countryside.

The World Bank had praised the policies of Mr Naidu, the chief executive officer of his state which is larger than Britain. The Congress party also claimed big victories in some of the most affluent urban centres.

In the capital, Delhi, it took six of seven seats. One of the most high-profile contests saw the petroleum minister, Ram Naik, lose in Bombay North to the film star turned Congress candidate Govinda. In Gujarat, the BJP's heartland and the scene of bloody Hindu-Muslim violence two years ago, the BJP's state leader, Narendra Modi, a hardline preacher turned politician, saw his party lose half of the 26 seats.

It was Congress's best result in the state, one of India's most industrialised regions, in more than 25 years. The BJP had been steadily trying to reposition itself as a more inclusive party, distancing itself from the aggressive Hindu nationalism of the past. In a move led by Mr Vajpayee, it tried to reach out to the country's million Muslims to assuage their fears of being treated as second-class citizens.

Analysts warn that the outcome may result in the BJP halting its moderation and entering a period of regression. For instance, one can't remember a single gesture from Prime Minister Vajpayee to indicate to the masses that he was willing to do away with old, flippant customs. If he had stopped his ministers from seeing him off at the airport prior to international tours, it would have been a gesture that would have been noticed and welcomed.

Ditto with ministers receiving him at the airport on his return from foreign trips. His iftaar parties and attendance of such parties thrown by others was also a carry-forward of old hypocrisies. He could easily have refrained from practising all the silly gestures and explained it by saying he wanted to be pragmatic. Another carry-forward from previous governments was attendance of far too many inaugural functions.

The top leaders should have refrained from being susceptible to photo-ops instead of spending time with rural folks. And, of course, there was the matter of George Fernandes. Having resigned after the Tehelka affair though he was not in a single frame of that video sting operation, he should not have been re-inducted into the council of ministers until the commission of inquiry on the subject was over. Instead, he ought to have been engaged in co-ordinating the NDA's affairs, offering advice to the allies and suggesting corrections to their course.

The Web. Failure to use surplus food stocks Perhaps the single biggest failure of the NDA government was its indifference to the millions of tonnes of foodgrain always lying rotting? Failure to look 'different' to the public Though the BJP had set out to proclaim itself as different from other parties, there was nothing that put this stamp on its leaders' style of governance as far as the common man was concerned. Email this article. Top emailed links.