'Writing on the wall, no surprises’

NEW DELHI: With early trends indicating a landslide win for BJP, the party’s supporters on Thursday stepped out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People said that the central government’s corruption-free image along with a strong stance on terrorism made them vote for the party, irrespective of the candidate.
Watching the results on a large screen in Connaught Place, Nirmal Singh, a civil contractor, said that he was satisfied with the work done by the Modi government and that’s why he voted for him even this time. “Sabke saath sabka vikas hua. PM Modi stood up against terrorism and now we are a better country than before. We voted for Modi and not for the candidate from our constituency,” he added.
Singh’s friend, Anil Dahiya, an engineer, echoed the same views and said that the opposition, be it Aam Aadmi Party or Congress, failed to impress them. “AAP failed to create a good impression even after getting a clear majority in the Delhi assembly. There was no doubt that the votes would go to Modi,” he added.
There were many others with a similar opinion. Rakesh Chopra, a consultant, said, “I expected this to happen. Nationalism worked in the BJP’s favour.
I didn’t see caste and creed at play in the past five years. I suffered losses during the demonetisation in 2016, but this move was for the larger benefit.”
As the day progressed, celebrations started gaining pace outside BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. People were seen distributing sweets and dancing on the road in jubilation. However, just a short distance away, the AAP office bore a pall of gloom with its gates shut.
Many people who had voted for other parties were not surprised at the results. They said at present there were no other leader who could compete against Modi.
Arpit Rana, an employee of a private firm in Gurgaon and a resident of Vasant Kunj, said the other parties didn’t prepare well to counter the Modi wave. “There were talks of an alliance between Congress and AAP. I think they would have fared better had they gone for it. This gave BJP an advantage. I hope the Modi government will use this second mandate in a better manner,” he added.
Friends Tanya and Sharanya, who didn’t vote for the BJP, had also expected this result. “I think people voted for Prime Minister Modi because they think there is no leader better than him,” said Tanya. “I don’t expect any great changes, but it’s all right. I have sort of become indifferent to the current state of affairs.”