Vantage | Three things the Indian voter is telling us

Sunday was result day in India. Five states—Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram—headed to the polling booth last month, the results of which were keenly watched. After all, the general elections are next year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi looking for a third consecutive term. So these state elections were supposed to give a sneak peek at what Indian voters are thinking about. The ruling party, the BJP, won three states, namely, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. The main opposition, the Congress, won only one that of Telangana. It is certainly an advantage to the BJP. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were ruled by the Congress. In fact, Chhattisgarh was considered a “safe” state for the Congress. Yet, both have flipped to the BJP. Plus, Madhya Pradesh was billed as a tough fight, maybe even a losing cause for the BJP, but again, it was a trouncing for the Congress.

Trust in Prime Minister Modi seems unshaken So Indian voters tell us a lot of things. For starters, their trust in Prime Minister Modi seems unshaken. He’s like a trouble shooter for his party: Can’t choose the Chief Minister? Just bank on PM Modi. Can’t build a social coalition? Again, project the prime minister. Facing stiff anti-incumbency? Get the PM to campaign. It’s something the opposition clearly lacks — a popular and bankable face. Does that mean local leadership is irrelevant? Absolutely not. If you don’t perform as an MLA you will be pulled up. If you don’t deliver as chief minister the same fate will follow. Just look at Telangana’s outgoing chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Now, KCR contested from two seats in his state. He actually lost one of them. It was his first election defeat since 1983. So it is the performance that matters, not just surname or stature. Similarly in Rajasthan, 25 ministers in the Congress government contested and 17 of them. That’s around 70 per cent of all ministers. Welfarism Another message is on welfarism, there’s been a lot of debate about what sort of welfare state should India be. Should it focus on hand-outs or empowerment or something else? Well, the voters don’t mind hand-outs. Just look at Madhya Pradesh, the BJP winning 160 out of 230 seats. How did that happen? Senior party leaders mentioned the Ladli Behna Yojana as a game-changer which is basically a welfare scheme for women. Under this the women from poor families get Rs 1,250 per month (around 15 dollars). The strategy has clearly worked. Many experts say the women voters flocked to the BJP. Not a one-size-fits-all country Compare that to Rajasthan, the Congress government pushed a right to health bill. It was the first in India, it guaranteed emergency care to people, even at private hospitals. But clearly, that’s not what people want. What they want is more money in their pockets. Of course, not every voter thinks like this and it’s not a one-size-fits-all country. But that’s another message to the politicians: What works in north India, won’t work in south India. What works in the south, won’t work in the northeast. In Mizoram, both the BJP and Congress lost, it’s a new regional party in pole position. So the BJP won the northern and central states while the Congress won the southern state. And a new regional party won in Mizoram. So different regions, different voters, different choices and that’s where the beauty of India’s federal structure lies. But finally, let’s keep the politics aside, let’s look at the broader impact on India’s democracy. The turnout was good, it was higher than the last elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. But in Telangana, it was lower. So maybe something to think about. Also, the turnout was higher in rural areas, compared to urban areas. So all you city people, listen up: Try to make time and vote in the next election. It promises to be a crucial one. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.