GUWAHATI, Dec 18 - With the BJP retaining Gujarat, albeit with a reduced majority, and managing to wrest Himachal Pradesh from the Congress, opposition parties here attributed the success of the saffron party to politics of polarisation, while the ruling party credited the victory to its organisational strength, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s leadership and various developmental schemes, and exuded confidence of a repeat of its success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass told The Assam Tribune that anti-incumbency failed to work against the party in Gujarat, where it has been in power for over two decades.
�Congress has no doubt managed to increase its tally by a few seats, but we have managed to hold on to our support base more or less and this has come about despite all talk of anti-incumbency and our prolonged spell in power in Gujarat. In Himachal, we have snatched power from the Congress.
�Our strong organisational base is the main factor for the victory. Secondly, the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and our party president Amit Shah is a major asset. People have benefited immensely from various developmental initiatives and schemes launched by our Central as well as different state governments and voters have reposed their faith in us,� Dass said.
He added that all talks about revival of the Congress under Rahul Gandhi are unfounded. �Our winning spree will continue and we will be re-elected to the Centre again in 2019,� Dass said.
When pointed out that the BJP�s kitty has come down in Gujarat, he said, �That is true, but you must remember that we have been in power in Gujarat for a long time and so there is nothing surprising in that. That we have gone down by a few seats is no credit to the Congress.� Reacting to the poll results, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that BJP leaders, including Modi, resorted to spreading fake and misleading propaganda and also played the Hindutva card.
�We have done reasonably well. Himachal has a history of electing BJP and Congress alternatively and that trend continues. As for Gujarat, we have not only increased our seats and vote share, but Rahul Gandhi single-handedly took on Prime Minister Modi and his entire Central Cabinet and all other BJP leaders. All credit for our growth in Gujarat goes to Gandhi,� Gogoi told this newspaper.
He said the target of Modi and other saffron party leaders of winning 150 seats in Gujarat has come crashing down.
�We have lost, but we have made substantial gains in a state where our party organisation hardly existed. Modi and other BJP leaders stooped very low, made wild accusations against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accused us of hobnobbing with Pakistan, tried to mislead people that Ahmed Patel would be made chief minister if we came to power, and played the communal card. Despite all that, we have performed well,� said Gogoi. He added that the results are a wake-up call for the BJP and that the saffron party�s tally in 2019 General Elections will come down.
�Their downfall has started. Their decline will continue and that decline will ultimately bring our party (Congress) back to power at the Centre. I am very happy with our performance,� said the former Chief Minister, who himself campaigned in Gujarat.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said the results in the two states have clearly shown that opposition unity is essential to realise any dream of unseating the BJP in New Delhi.
�Congress has not achieved what was expected. Today�s results are a setback for the Congress and the BJP will try to gain the maximum mileage from it. Results in Gujarat and Himachal have demonstrated clearly that the Congress must now think of a grand alliance,� AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam said.
He added that the Hindutva card and Modi�s ability to successfully position himself as somebody representing the aspirations of crores of Gujarati people ultimately prevailed despite the disenchantment with the GST and demonetisation and the Congress� ability to stitch together an arrangement with local caste-based leaders like Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani.
The AIUDF also accused the Congress of playing the �soft-Hindutva� card to win over the majority community in Gujarat, a view which was echoed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). �The Congress and BJP have the same economic policies and so for the common voters there is a sense of no real alternative. At the same time, the BJP has been able to play its game of polarisation. Even the Congress played the soft-Hindutva card. BJP is taking advantage of the fact that people really do not see the Congress as a real alternative,� said CPI (M) Assam state secretary Deben Bhattacharya.