The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 began on the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers took oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of high-profile world leaders and prominent personalities from the country. The cricket-crazy nation was glued to the television screens on Thursday evening to watch Modi sworn-in as the prime minister for the second consecutive term, the only fourth lawmaker after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh to achieve the feat. People from around the globe, who were closely following the possible political outcome in the world’s biggest democracy for months, must be studying the huge win in awe after the BJP performed even better than the 2014 general elections despite all the negative publicity that it received, especially in their countries. But people’s mandate has silenced all the critics both within and outside the country. Unlike five years ago when the saffron party was relatively inexperienced at the national level, the leaders looked confident as they walked into a familiar pitch for the all-important second innings on Thursday.
In test cricket, 1st innings can be like a gamble with the players unsure of the pitch, opposition tactics, and weather. There is room for players to make mistakes in this innings and fans understand it too. But in the second innings, teams have clearer goals after having seen the conditions and the outcome of the first outing. The teams that learn from their mistakes, adapt to the condition and execute the set plans better come out victorious. Politics is not cricket but the two have some similarities in terms of execution. After successfully completing the first term, the BJP-led NDA is forming the government again at the centre. While some may argue that five years is too short a time to clearly see the performance of a government, a clear result can certainly be seen in 10 years. So, there is high possibility of the same people who voted the NDA to power making a U-turn in the next election if the Modi-government overlooks the plaguing problems like poverty, corruption, unemployment, illiteracy etc. that the nation has been facing since independence. The coalition, especially the BJP has a bigger task at hand as people will watch their actions and policies more closely. The stake is higher than before and the outcome after five years can be overwhelming – either a crushing defeat or an even bigger win – based on the performance in the second innings. Having got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, the incumbent government have at least two advantages – stability, which is not only vital for bringing about economic development but also sends good feelers to foreign investors to invest in the country; and the power to implement policies that will benefit the citizens. It cannot afford to disappoint the citizens who will decide its future once again in 2024 through their votes. If complacency creeps in, the BJP will face the same fate that the Congress is facing today.
