Some of us were anticipating during the run up to the polls that the general election 2014 would be a turning point in Indian politics. We felt that it will crystallise the political trends the country will witness in future vis-à-vis Centre-state relationship, secularism-communalism, rural-urban or old and young. The political composition of Parliament in both the Houses will also have impact on future governance.

The landslide and stunning victory of the BJP and its allies under the leadership of Narendra Modi has aroused hope and is expected to facilitate formation of a stable government at the Centre arresting decades of instability, poor governance due to the compulsions of coalition government comprising political parties of various shades, ideology and contradictory agenda.

Narendra Modi’s rise from a modest beginning to the highest political post is a testimony and tribute to Indian democracy. With grit, determination and meticulous planning, Modi decimated rivals and subdued veterans such as L.K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, sidelined Sushma Swaraj and others to project himself as the best choice for the BJP to bring change and occupy Delhi darbar and dislodge the dynasty to transform political culture of the country.

He articulated the problems of price rise, unemployment and rampant corruption, particularly mega scams such as 2G, CWG, Coalgate, Adarsh, defence deals to expose the ineffective, inefficient and paralysed government headed by a person with no say in policy making or governance. Covering over 3 lakh kilometers across the country to address more than 440 rallies, he targeted women and youth, who were disillusioned with the development policy of UPA II, using modern management mantras, latest technology, social media and a group of dedicated workers. The result was as astounding - a massive mandate after three decades given by voters to a non-Congress political party. The corporate world is euphoric and it is reflected in the stock market. The calculations of non-BJP, non-Congress state governments have gone awry as their bargaining power has been reduced. Modi in his victory speech at Vadodara tried to reach out to those governments by emphasising that in our federal system states are partners and it will be his endeavour to work together to make India a great nation.

The prime minister-elect with the active support of RSS targeted big states such as UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and polarised the electorate with his excellent communication skill on the theme of development as against secular parties such as the Congress, the SP and the BSP, who harped on communal issues. Like Indira Gandhi, Modi became the focal point and around him all political parties revolved and reacted.

Consequently, the BJP now has a robust presence in north and west India and made comfortable entry in the south. However, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Bengal could withstand the tsunami of new paradigm of Indian politics. Modi will require their cooperation and support for some period to pass the bills in Rajya Sabha notwithstanding the fact that there may not be an official Opposition party or leader in the Lok Sabha according to the existing rules.

It will be pertinent to observe that electronic media played a crucial role in this election in forming public opinion in rural India and Modi critics inadvertently helped him to be at the centre of media coverage by tacitly encouraging US presidential style campaign.

The most important issue that will deserve urgent attention of the new government is of course the nation’s economy. The new prime minister has to take some bold decisions for economic reforms that will attract investment and generate employment. Agriculture and manufacturing sectors need to be rejuvenated. In foreign affairs, reiteration of change in continuity that India will be guided by national interest assuring the small neighbours that we stands for their territorial integrity and sovereignty and that bilateral relationship is for mutual benefits will send a positive message.

Defence is another area that deserves the PM’s attention to remove the cobwebs created by previous governments due to indecisiveness and neglect of the legitimate requirements of defence forces to protect our borders and national interest.

Modi’s emphasis on cleanliness in his victory speech in Varanasi and to make it a national movement by 2019, which is 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi is refreshing.

Against the backdrop of the national scenario, the results of the Assembly election in Odisha have surprised the ruling party and the Opposition.

The resounding success of the BJD not only proved all psephologists wrong, but all apprehensions baseless. Once again the results confirmed that Naveen Patnaik is the most popular leader in the state without any challenge whatsoever from his own party or the two main national parties in the foreseeable future. His record fourth term could be attributed primarily to the absence of any alternative before the voters to choose from. For the vast majority of voters in rural Odisha, Naveen is perceived to be a clean, wise and gentle leader unlike other politicians they are familiar with. Lack of knowledge of the local language is no longer an issue. Besides, the BJD started the preparations for the Assembly election in right earnest much before others had even thought of it.

The BJD had started the groundwork during the urban body election. Since then, the CM tirelessly travelled across all the districts to rejuvenate the party units and take stock of ground realities to evaluate the strength and weakness of the BJD and potential candidates. The welfare schemes announced prior to the election covering the child in mother’s womb to the crematorium ground were cleverly designed keeping the election in view. Moreover, a number of schemes and policy announcements targeted various section of society such as farmers, labourers and students, who reposed faith in Naveen.

While the BJD swept the polls, the two main Opposition parties fell by the wayside primarily for the lack of preparedness and undue delay in selection of candidates to campaign effectively. Resource constraint was another factor for the lacklustre campaign of the Opposition. The BJP state unit was not well equipped to capitalise on the advantage of the Modi wave. Congress’s experiment in frequent changes of state leaderships and the tribal/caste card came a cropper.

In a nutshell, unless the Congress or the BJP project a new leader with impeccable integrity, courage and imagination to provide inspiring leadership to the demoralised cadre, the percentage of votes will continue to increase in favour of the BJD turning incumbency into a positive factor.

(The author is a former diplomat)