India has voted

So, India has voted…A phenomenal journey comes to an end…It was magnificent in its own sense, the entire process…It was long, exhausting but spirited…Salute the hard work done by everyone involved.

Politicians and general public had to endure tremendous stress during the process. All the political parties formulated their strategies, executed it, controlled it, and did course correction time to time. Although it was not that public had not made up their mind; however they had to re-evaluate their decisions, and change it several times during the course. At the end, they voted for only one individual, only one party.

It was monumental, I wished the duration of the elections were not that long; however we need to consider the complexities of conducting elections in India. Such a diverse demography, varying climatic conditions all across, and different level of sensitivities required a full-proof preparation, and hats off to election commission to smoothly execute the show.

And, now results are eagerly awaited.

Trend of this election: Modi bashing

While Mr Modi & BJP were gung-ho in assuming or anticipating that there is a Modi wave all across the country, opposition or not so opposition’s political strategy centered on Modi. Normally, elections are run against the sitting government; however this time the major dimension was “Modi” in this election. It was like, all the other non-BJP or non-NDA parties assumed that Modi or BJP is going to win this election; and their strategy was to minimize the margin of the win.

On Modi’s defense, it was unfair for him to receive so much abuse, personal jibes and criticism. It was unilateral attack on him. Many of the national and foreign intellectuals termed him un-democratic, autocratic, and non-human too. However, this man kept himself composed, and retaliated not with words, but with strategies carefully constructed; and created space in hearts of public. He proved that lotus can bloom in the mud. So much animosity against him helped consolidate the support of general public for him. Hence, this election very much became Modi Vs The others.

My predictions

Let me present my best guesstimates about what we will hear on May 16^th. Almost every pre-poll survey has shown BJP as the biggest gainers. I would follow the trend too. Assuming that bull-whip effect has come to play towards the end, BJP should win somewhere between 200 to 220 seats; making it the single largest party for this term. It should be followed by 100-120 seats for Congress. I am not predicting a gigantic loss for Congress as they have a loyal vote-share in few pockets of the country. AAP would not be able to repeat the Delhi charisma in geenral elections, and would settle for 5-6 seats. BJP should be able to form this government with the help of its coalition partners under NDA umbrella; if needed stretching the help from other smaller parties.

Now, let us wait; and see what happens on 16^th.