The ongoing JNU impasse and the detestable activities of the Hindu Right will have their reflections in the forthcoming Assam assembly poll. Though the BJP has anointed Assam’s popular figure Sarbananda Sonowal as one of the party’s mascots, the ongoing JNU issue may deter the prospect of the Saffron party. The former Assam student union leader has a huge following especially among the youths in that state. But Sonowal and his party have to work extra hard to dispel the pollution emanated from the display of arrogance by the Hindu Right.The recent Bihar poll verdict showed all. To recall, in Bihar, the Saffron party took a beating and the debacle of the party was attributed to this same issue. We may also note that the Bihar’s loss was not just an election loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party—it boosted the morale of the Congress party that was feeling relegated then. The event was also the indication, according to political commentators, that the relevance of Modi Wave was on the wane. In fact, the poll verdict had watered and nourished the withering Indian democracy, kudos to the Bihar voters. To the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and also to the Hindu brigade, it is time to learn that irrationality and arrogance have no buyers in modern India. The country has been passing through a phase of irrationality and orthodoxy under the Modi led NDA regime. There is no gainsaying that the country will continue to witness the grim trend in the absence of the likes of the Bihar poll verdict. Meanwhile, the RJD-JD (U) victory in Bihar gave a tremendous relief to the hobbling Congress party. The message is clear that any party can take on the Modi Wave at any given time. The several trips of Narendra Modi to Bihar for the canvass could not show the usual magic of the Big Chest Saffron babu. The verdict also brought a sense of security to the minority groups. Further, the event is also a strong message to the world that modernization/development (main poll plank of Nitish Kumar) is what the people need and not communalism. The credentials of Amit Shah (billed as the finest strategist of the BJP) have been affected. Buoyed by this development, the Tarun Gogoi led Congress party in Assam is confident of doing magic.
