The five-state elections have given rise to new discourse. These elections have shown that it is possible to stop the BJP juggernaut through clever poll management and striking up of alliances. The BJP, which looked unstoppable in every assembly elections, has been defeated in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, while in MP, the Congress is the biggest party. This has given new hope to the Congress and other non-BJP parties that it is possible to defeat the BJP. After this election, the Congress would be looked towards by even the regional parties. Rahul Gandhi's stock has suddenly gone up after these election results.







There are three major lessons to be drawn from the five-state assembly elections. Firstly, the rural voters, who are down and dispirited, have impacted the voting trend. They have voted against the ruling BJP. Secondly, the BJP could not get votes by playing religion card. Thirdly, it is possible to defeat the BJP by working right kind of electoral alliances.

The farming community across the state is facing tough times due to the lack of minimum support price and the climatic vagaries. In Telangana, the Rythu Bandhu has proved to be a boon for them. They could secure seeds and input costs without much differences. It is this scheme that has actually helped the TRS to win the elections. Anger among the rural voters has hit the BJP very hard in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. This is the case even in Mizoram. Though Shivraj Singh looked strong in MP, firing on farmers in Mandsaur district has cost the party very dear. This election has shown that those who ignore the farmers will have to pay for it.

The Congress, which was habituated to lose the elections one by one, has tasted victory in these five state elections. In Gujarat, it came close to victory, but lost out in the last lap. Now, the situation has changed. It has three major states in its kitty. Now Rahul Gandhi is being viewed with more respect. After having taken over reins of the party on December 11 last year, he has finally managed to wipe off the Pappu tag.

These elections have shown that only a united Opposition can defeat the BJP. This realisation would help in finetuning the strategies for the 2019 elections. The BSP too paid dearly by fighting alone in MP and in association with Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh. Now, efforts are likely to be intensified to bring both Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, who kept away from the Monday's Opposition conclave, into the aliance. Already some NDA partners too are letting out warnings to the BJP. Shiv Sena is already threatening the BJP and RSLP leader Upendra Kushwaha has already left the NDA and the Central Cabinet.