Results of the Assembly elections to five States have thrown up three undeniable messages: the BJP continues to have its magic spell on the electorate; the AAP has emerged as a new star on the national political scene with its emphatic win in Punjab and showing its presence felt in other States; the Congress’ downfall continues unabated, losing even Punjab, one of its bastions, heavily. The results are clear signposts for both the winners and the losers. In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s image of dealing ruthlessly with mafias and criminal gangs seems to have paid off; presenting him as a ‘bulldozer’ of bullies, leading to better law and order situation in the State, has caught the imagination of the people; some of the welfare measures like free ration came as ‘manna from heaven’ for the vast majority of the poor when they were left with little resources to survive. People seem to have overlooked the pangs and pains of the farmers during the year-long agitation or the disastrous handling of the pandemic when one could see bodies flowing along the Ganga.            
The Punjab results are a textbook case for any ruling party to take a leaf out of it. The Congress party which had come to power with a decisive mandate in 2017 has to bite the dust this time. Even after removing Chief Minister Amarinder Singh from the post for non-performance, the party could not improve its image as the leaders were seen at each other’s throat with a ferocity not even seen in inter-party rivalry. Under the circumstances, the people did what is best for them: elected Aam Aadmi Party which stole their imagination with exceptionally pro-people promises. The ‘Delhi model’ of ‘free water, free power’ was more than enough to warm the cockles of the distressed farmers and other ordinary mortals of the state to vote for a change of government with a vengeance. The AAP has to now showcase a ‘Punjab model’ to take care of the State’s special problems including the drug menace.  

Surprisingly in Uttarakhand where the BJP had to change its Chief Ministers twice mid-way because of fear of losing at the hustings, the party has done well. In Goa and Manipur also, it could put up credible performance. Hence, it would not be wrong to say that the Modi magic still works across these states. The perception that Modi can win elections for the party is getting cemented with these victories. In fact, the vote percentage of the party has gone up in three States, making its base stronger, though the number of seats have gone down in UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab.   

The verdicts send strong signals for the Congress: the people no longer see it as a winning proposition. It needs a strong leadership and has to come out of its ad hoc arrangements. The writing has been on the wall for long, but the party has not bothered to see it. Though the Congress has shown no signs of revival, but the regional parties are proving that they are capable enough to take on the BJP. The AAP’s sweep in Punjab and the Samajwadi Party’s spirited fight in UP, phenomenally increasing its vote percentage and number of seats, could be a beginning in this direction.