BJP wins Uttar Pradesh: Five game changers

New Delhi : As the Bharatiya Janata Party nears a massive win in the Uttar Pradesh Elections, we look at five factors which changed the election.

1. The grand alliance that wasn't to be

The Samajwadi Party and Congress aligned their interests in the line of a common enemy, the BJP. They ended up doing exactly opposite to what they intended to. By joining hands, they rendered the BJP as the single most powerful force in the state. It rendered the latter with an image of strength like no other party in the state. The absence of Mayawati from the alliance also eliminated the chances of having an arrangement as strong as the one in Bihar.

2. Anti incumbency

Anti incumbency is a factor unique to Indian politics. It is omnipresent and perpetual and stronger than most factors in many states. The fact that BJP got over 40% of the vote share is down to the anti-incumbent wave floating in the state.

3. Failure of Mayawati

For over 20 years, the BSP and SP have changed hands at the help of power in the state. The fall of BSP from relevance meant that the caste dynamics went into the favour of BJP as it went for the 'Post-Mandal' strategy of garnering lower caste votes.

4. The failure of Anti-demonetisation

The parties opposing BJP focused heavily on the ill-effects of demonetisation. The strategy eventually did not pay any dividends and the under-currents were totally ignored.

5. The Modi factor

The Prime Minister was at the forefront of all electoral efforts in the state by the BJP. The elections were widely touted as the semi final for 2019 Lok Sabha elections and if it was any indication for that, it is overwhelmingly positive for the Prime Minister.