The most noteworthy political development in the context of electoral politics and the way parties prepare for polls is the BJP decision to re-anoint Amit Shah as party president with the strong backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Last year’s crushing defeats — first in Delhi and then in Bihar — haven’t quite dented the saffron party’s faith in Mr Shah.
Which means the RSS, without which no decision of importance in the BJP is final, has gone along. Perhaps not doing so may have reflected poorly on the PM who has been closely aligned with Mr Shah since their Gujarat days, especially at a time when the Modi government is getting caught in a vortex. In just a few months from now, Assembly polls will be held in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam.
BJP’s stakes in Assam may be deemed to be the highest among these states. The party has developed a base there in the last 30 years, and the ruling party, Congress, faces an anti-incumbency of three terms. BJP can’t have a better chance to dislodge Congress in the state. And they have already pushed their star campaigner, the Prime Minister, to the fore.
Mr Modi made a barnstorming visit earlier this week, and made some poll-related announcements. But whether the PM and Mr Shah will dominate the campaign, as they did in Delhi and Bihar without success, remains to be seen. In tactics terms, this is what the ruling party must analyse carefully. Another straight defeat can deal a body blow.
