Early Times Report
Jammu, June 1: The spectacular victory of PM Narendra Modi in the just-concluded general election has stunned the opposition parties in India, including the Congress, SP, BSP, TMC, AAP, JDS, NCP, RLD, the CPI, CPI-M, NC, PDP, to mention only a few. The reasons are not far to seek. The most significant reason is that all these parties will have to work hard and win over the people's confidence if they were to play any role in the country's political arena. They will have to review their whole approach to the country's changing socio-political scene.
"The victory of Modi has not only upset the applecart of the opposition in India but also rattled Pakistan. Many in Pakistan have termed the victory of Modi as a setback and as an onslaught on secularism. By backing Modi they have given Modi licence to settle the Kashmir issue through brute force and chicanery" this is the general view in Pakistan.
The Pakistani think-tanks are seeking to create an impression that PM Modi didn't contest the election on democratic and economic issues but on the planks of national security and Pakistan. "The only other plank in BJP's electoral campaign was a threat to national security and belligerence towards Pakistan. Its triumph will put a strain on relations with all neighbours, especially Pakistan. Worse, it could increase the state's amenability to pressure from the armed forces and lead to curtailment of basic freedoms and the rule of law".
"In addition, Modi cleverly played on the public's raw nationalist sentiments by raising the bogey of threat from Pakistan, and thus brought, probably for the first time, the 'taming' of Pakistan in the electoral debate. He extracted the maximum possible political capital out of the air strike in Pakistan's Balakot area. That the adventure failed to harm Pakistan did not matter. What Modi gained from the incident was the satisfaction offered to his gullible followers that he would not balk at striking at Pakistan, the latter's nuclear capability notwithstanding," they have also been opining.
One thing is absolutely clear: The victory of Narendra Modi has not gone down well with Pakistani civil and military establishments and the India-hater Pakistan-based think-tanks. It's quite understandable. |
