How Uttar Pradesh Elections were different from 2014 General Elections

New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party achieved an overwhelming majority at the Legislative Assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh. There were instant comparisons with the party's feat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The two however differ in the following aspects:

1. Leadership cult takes a backseat

While Modi led the 2014 election campaign as the de facto Prime Minister candidate, the BJP has not projected Keshav Prasad Maurya as emphatically. It is only testament to that fact that there is no certainty of who the Chief Minister will be.

2. Prashant Kishore's strategy fails

Prashant Kishore had thrown election management into the limelight in 2014. His stature was further increased in the Bihar elections. The 2017 legislative assembly elections are a huge hit to that image though.

3. The under-currents played an important role

The overwhelming victory was not anticipated in the current elections. Even the exit polls expected the BJP only to get close to absolute majority. Unlike the 2014 elections where the Modi wave was omnipresent, it was the under-currents that led BJP to the win.

4. The media failed to gauge the public mood

The media continued to portray the demonization as an important factor in the elections but it proved otherwise. The media could not understand the public mood unlike the 2014 elections.

5. The Congress has some respite

By winning the Punjab elections, the Congress has something to cheer about. In the 2014 elections, getting less than 10% of the seats had meant they were pushed off relevance. Even though it is humble, the Congress does have a reason to be optimistic.