The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia, political strategist Amitabh Tiwari and psephologist Yogendra Yadav talk emerging trends and all things elections in a panel discussion.
Yadav said BJP had played with 5Ms up its sleeve - machinery, money, Modi, mandir and media. And while machinery and money might have worked in their favour, the issue of the mandir certainly hadn’t, he observed.
Urging the opposition to look for big lessons, Yadav said:
“The 2019 elections will be beyond just plain arithmetic. There needs to be a vision. This is the biggest lesson for the opposition. They have to be credible on ground.”Yogendra Yadav
Further, Yadav warned the media from “putting all its eggs in Modi’s basket”, while adding that for the first time it appears as though 2019 present a level-playing field.
Commenting on the lack of a CM candidate in the elections, Tiwari said this was setting a dangerous precedence, as it indicated the lack of leadership.
However, Yadav drew the example of Chhattisgarh, where despite not having a CM face, the Congress is gaining big.
“The face has to be credible, but the party’s vision is more important. Today’s trends have clearly indicated that arrogance has lost.”Yogendra Yadav
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