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Uni-polar Politics

There cannot be a better way of celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of the founder of the BJP - Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Today in India, there remains only one truly national party i.e BJP, the rest are best strong regional players who existence is limited to a few states.

Lets first analyse the results state by state before looking back at the national picture

1) West Bengal - Left paid a very heavy price for the JNU episode. Those who were chanting to break India in pieces, found themselves in pieces. Not only did Mamta win despite the corruption scams and lack of performance, even an un-organisesd Congress won more seats than the Left. Today the Left is not even an Opposition Party in Bengal. The people of Bengal gave a fitting reply to the JNU styled politics. BJP peaked in Bengal with 3 seats and best every performance.

2) Kerala - What saved the Left in Kerala is that it distanced itself from the Left in Bengal. A growing BJP with their partners left a big enough dent in the Congress left front to hand over the win to the Left. BJP's cadres and supporters in Kerala need to careful as the Left is known for its ISIS styled revenge politics (killings, chopping off hands/legs, social boycotts etc ) once it comes to power.

3) Tamil Nadu - A kiss from the Congress is a kiss of death. Alliance with Congress doomed the DMK in TN. The nationalist vote bank tactically voted in favour of AIADMK to keep the DMK- Congress combine out. The next 2 years will see major re-alingnments in Tamil Nadu given the age of Karunanidhi and the failing health of Jayalalitha.

4) Assam - A very critical state and a gateway to the North East. BJP's campaign very nicely combined nationalism with pride in local Assamese identity. A credible local team was presented with a forward looking agenda. Congress's strongest fort in India was then easily breached. Work by RSS affiliated Vanvasi Kalyan Asharam for the last 2 decades also yielded good dividends.

5) Pondicherry - Pondicherry is a UT like Delhi, although Congress won it , it does not count for much in the national scheme of things.

So what should the BJP do going ahead ...

1) Geographical Expansion  - Many of states such as Bengal and Tamil Nadu are looking for an alternative. BJP needs to build alliances with social, cultural and spiritual organisations. This is will help them grow faster and position themselves as a viable regional alternatives in many states.

2) Leadership Development - Its time for Modi to begin developing leaders for the next 2 generations at the state level. No other party is doing this and having seasoned leaders at state level will be a big differentiator in the post 2019 scenario

3) Focus on Cultural Nationalism - A strong nation that respects identities and culture of various states is a potent message.

Lastly ... in politics the goal is to bleed your opponents and not go for the kill. Do not get over exited with this victory ....

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