The tumultuous 2024 is drawing to a close and what an year its been. Politically speaking this was the year of the Lok Sabha polls that threw up a rather surprising result, with the Modi government failing to reach an outright majority and the Opposition doing better than expected.
However a few months later, the year threw up another surprise when the BJP snatched a win from the jaws of defeat and held onto the trophy state of Haryana. That win had a far reaching impact for it restored the BJPs morale and dent the opposition’s campaign that the Modi government was losing steam. The BJP held on to its winning streak in the Maharashtra polls that followed.
So then what are the takeaways here – as 2024 draws to a close it is safe to say that Brand Modi is still holding strong and remains the country’s dominant political force. Yes, it has been dented in the Lok Sabha, and despite the Haryana and Maharashtra wins, not all the sheen has been restored. But given that the Opposition could not hold on to their Lok Sabha narrative there is still no other political leader in sight who can match the Modi juggernaut.
Which brings us to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha who is leading the opposition charge against the BJP. He had entered 2024 on strong note, fresh from the goodwill of his Bharat Jodo yatra and his political trajectory was on a upswing. This held good for him in the 2024 election as well, when he nearly notched up a 3 figure mark for the Congress (it got 99 seats).
However since then there seems to be a bit of a downswing, post Maharashtra and Haryana. The INDIA bloc is ending the year on a note of recalibration. Should it go ahead with Rahul as its face or should another leader with a more consistent electoral track record take charge. The West Bengal Chief Minister who managed to hold her own in the Lok Sabha polls against the Modi-Shah onslaught has thrown her hat in the ring.
Given that Delhi elections are slated to be held in the first few weeks of the new year (the dates are yet to be announced) it would be interesting to see if the political calculations of 2024 hold good for 2025 as well. In fact, 2025 is a year that the RSS will be celebrating its 100 years, so its important for the Hindutva narrative to hold on to its electoral strongholds. And given the way 2024 is ending that does seem to be the way 2025 is headed.
