The only good thing about Congress was their media cell was not as strong. BJP, on the other hand spends crores on INR on their media cell every year. So, if anyone criticizes BJP, they get lambasted on social media, and popular people get lambasted on news channels.
No political party should be above criticism, however, in current environment BJP is above criticism. Also, a lot of Indians have a sheep-herd mentality, so these days many people are supporting BJP because they feel they are saviors of religion/nation.
Lot of my friends support BJP because they genuinely believe there is a conspiracy by Muslims to have more kids so that they can overtake Hindu population in next few decades. They think BJP is the only party which can help the "Hindus". In northern parts of India, this kind of mentality is pretty common. Even the most educated of people differentiate based on religion (from both sides). Some come out and say it openly, others don't say it openly but agree silently with BJP on their points.
I think one thing that Modi/Shah have proven beyond any doubt is that, they are the smartest manipulators/strategists in India. Let's go back pre-2014:
1. Gujrat was portrayed as the most developed states. Images were shown of development in State. Gujrat earthquake was used in marketing of Gujrat, common perception (outside Gujrat) was created that after the massive destruction due to Gujrat earthquake, Modi has developed Ahmedabad at part with western cities.
2. The above perception was created, since Gujrati's voted Modi in power 3 times in a row that was also used to portray Modi as the champion of development. His only competitor was Nitish Kumar. Both Nitish Kumar and Modi were portrayed as the champions of development and competition was between them to be the next face. Modi won, no one knows what went in the background but he pulled if off and became the face.
3. Corruption cases against congress were rampant, Modi used the issue of corruption and built his entire campaign on 3 Agendas:
a) Corruption
b) Black money stashed abroad
c) Development
If you remember correctly, 2014 elections were one of the costliest ever in terms of campaign money. Video holograms were used for first time. Nationwide perception of Modi was built during the campaign phase.
4) At that time, religious polarization was not done by BJP, however, everyone knew or BJP is perceived to be Pro-Hindu/Anti-Muslim party. So the public which was already fed up by congress (rightfully so), voted for BJP as they promised development/no corruption/black money + they were perceived to be Pro-Hindu, which is always in the back of mind of Indian voters.
5) In 5 years, all the three major issues took backseat. And focus shifted to religious issues, and polarization begun. This is where I think BJP lost a voter like me, if Modi would have come out in open and made sure anyone creating polarization is dealt with severely, he would have been a much better leader. However, he kept quiet, as a PM he needed to change perception of the government of being anti-muslim, and mob lynchers should have been punished severely.
6) Shah and team strategized on which topics to fight 2019 elections. They could not fight on the old topics as they had failed on their promises, so they chose national security as the topic. They won convincingly, it was a masterstroke by Shah and team.
7) Voters have short memory and are generally brainwashed by media, BJP when in opposition blocked GST and couple other bills which congress wanted to bring (forgot all the names), but now they brought these bills themselves. If they actually cared for the nation, they would have had a proper debate with congress government, ironed out the 2-3 points in the GST bill and made sure it came in 2008/9 itself. However, they are selfish like every other party (congress was opposing GST when BJP was trying to bring it in LOL) and only cared to get the credit.
At the end I would say one thing, congress and regional parties have only themselves to blame for the rise of BJP. They have been polarizing vote banks for far too long and their appeasement politics for decades is the reason why BJP is so strong now. BJP grabbed the opportunity presented to them with both hands and their strategy worked because of the misdoings of Congress/Regional parties.
The main strength of India is also our weakness, population. Currently the major issues which our nation faces are: Population, unemployment, poverty. These are the toughest issues to control, hence, all political parties use the easy route and divert the attention to issues such as caste, religion, beef, mandir, strikes etc.
I don't blame BJP or any government, I think all of them are representative of majority of the population and if majority don't want to demand a better standard of living, free healthcare, free education for kids, unadulterated food, clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, etc etc then we don't deserve them.
I know my post is a bit off-topic but wanted to get it out
@MP101 [MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION] [MENTION=134981]Bhaag Viru Bhaag[/MENTION]
