BJP's massive victory in UP
It is no mean achievement to gain nearly seven times the seat than the previous parliamentary tally. And if it is indeed a tectonic shift in Indian politics as one senior BJP leader has said, it is fair to ask as to what the massive BJP victory implies for Bangladesh and for the region of South Asia as a whole. There are two issues that order our thoughts.
Firstly, now that the victory further strengthens the BJPs stronghold on all-India politics, it being in control of more than a third of the Union's 29 States, either singly or in coalition with a regional party, we in Bangladesh would hope, given the very good relations the Modi government has with Bangladesh, that the BJP would use this strength to resolve the bilateral issues, particularly the longstanding ones like sharing of the Teesta waters, by putting pressure on Mamata Banerjee to come on board.
Secondly, and equally importantly, is the implication of the victory and the underlying political philosophy of the BJP. Admittedly, the Modi victory in 2014 rode on the crest of Hindutva wave but he had assuaged our fears by retaining the visage of Indian secularism to a great extent. However, given that about 54 percent of the population and 64 percent of the land is under rule of the saffron and BJP and its allies at this point in time, and the fact that some BJP leaders term the UP victory as a mandate for Hindu raj, we wonder whether Prime Minister Modi, under the circumstances, would be able to maintain the secular edifice of India.
Such waves, unfortunately are not restricted by geographical boundaries and tend to spill over, the rightist and extremist in this country ever ready to exploit that situation. And that might render the job of Prime Minister Hasina, who is striving very hard to make Bangladesh a secular and pluralistic country, far more difficult. And this is what make us feel very uneasy.
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