Division Of Gains

The BJP is cashing in on the disunity among opposition parties.

- Pratul Sharma

Even as the common man continues to suffer from the ill-implemented demonetisation of 0500 and 01,000 notes, the entire issue has turned out to be a war of perceptions for the political parties. While the opposition has been raising questions about the government’s real motive behind the move, the BJP has put up a strong defence.

On November 29, in an effort to counter the allegations that many BJP leaders were tipped off about the demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked his party’s MPs and MLAs to submit their bank statements for November 8 to December 31 to party president Amit Shah. His bête noire, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, was quick to point out that the prime minister should ask for their bank transactions since the beginning of the year, and also seek details of the accounts of spouses and children.

Just when the opposition parties thought they had found a common ground against the demonetisation to corner the government, the results of the civic body elections in Maharashtra and Gujarat came as a dampener. The polls were held after the demonetisation announcement on November 8, and the BJP significantly improved its tally.