Pivotal poll cycle strengthens BJP, blunts Oppn sting

Within the party, success in Maharashtra means that Narendra Modi's leadership and Amit Shah's control become even more robust now

- Prashant Jha

The Maharashtra win reaffirms the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s dominance in Indian politics and its ability to leverage incumbency to win elections. Within the BJP, it reinforces Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's control over the party. Within the larger Sangh Parivar, it ensures the continued recalibration of ties between the party and its ideological mentor and fraternal outfits that was set in motion after the Lok Sabha verdict on more collaborative terms. Within India's political economy, it allows the BJP to continue to have tremendous influence over corporate India. And the results show to the Opposition that resting on the Lok Sabha laurels won't get them far.

The Maharashtra and Jharkhand results also establish the centrality of welfare schemes in general - cash transfers to women in particular - as the winning formula in elections, with serious political economic consequences. The outcomes, when juxtaposed with the BJP's success in Uttar Pradesh's bypolls, show that Hindutva can work, or can fail, depending on the local context but that it will remain a central message for the BJP's politics. The results also show the continued salience of caste, subcaste and tribal identities in shaping voter preferences but also the distinct ways in which they operate in their local specific settings.

Examine each of these implications of Saturday's verdict separately in three broad baskets-on BJP's politics, on the national Opposition, and on the broader direction of Indian politics, both in terms of the identity and development axis.

A renewed BJP