As the election campaign for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections comes to a close, political dynamics and strategic shifts are becoming increasingly apparent across various states and union territories. With 88 constituencies spread across 13 states and union territories set to go to the polls this Friday, the electoral battleground is heating up.
In this phase, significant attention is drawn towards states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Bihar, where crucial seats are up for grabs. Rajasthan, once considered a stronghold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is now witnessing a fiercely contested battle, as highlighted by Senior Journalist Sanjeev Srivastava. Factors such as anti-incumbency sentiments against MPs and changes in ticket allocations have made Rajasthan a closely watched region. While the BJP has made efforts to reclaim lost ground, the contest remains fiercely competitive, with the outcome hanging in the balance.
“Rajasthan has turned out to be one of the surprise packets of this election. If you had asked me a few weeks back, Rajasthan was one of the states where we were talking about whether BJP would go in for a hat-trick, it will be another 25-0 verdict from Rajasthan, like in 2014 and 2019. But for a number of factors and reasons like anti-incumbency against MPs, change of tickets etc, Rajasthan has become a hot potato for BJP. It’s not that they are losing many seats, but in many seats, it has become a very tough contest where the result can go to any side. In the first phase, the voter turnout was very low and the general wisdom is that it has been a very tough fight, where a few seats may go the Congress way in the first phase,” Srivastava said.
“Now in the second phase, where 13 seats will be going to polls, I think the BJP has retrieved some of the lost ground. They learned from their mistakes in the first phase, whereas the opposition is really not fighting this election. It is the Janta, the people which were fighting elections based on common issues. So people were saying we want Narendra Modi, but we don’t like our MP, we don’t like the person who has been given the ticket, earlier MP was better. And local caste combination permutations were coming into port which were putting the BJP into some kind of disadvantage. Some of those issues have been ironed out. So I think in this second phase the BJP looks like getting their act together,” Srivastava stated.
Similarly, Maharashtra presents a dynamic political landscape, characterized by unpredictability and diverse concerns. Senior Journalist Sudhir Suryawanshi sheds light on the agricultural belt in the western part of Nagpur, where farmer issues, inflation, and unemployment dominate the electoral discourse. Maharashtra’s political narrative, often marked by twists and turns, underscores the complexity of the state’s electoral dynamics.
Amidst the electoral fervour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, leveraging statements made by Sam Pitroda, the head of the Indian Overseas Congress. Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax laws in the US sparked controversy, with the BJP accusing the Congress of harbouring intentions to impose such taxes in India. Although the Congress swiftly distanced itself from Pitroda’s statements, the episode provided ammunition for Modi to intensify his criticism of the opposition party, portraying it as a threat to the nation’s economic stability.
Watch the accompanying video for the entire discussion.