2019, a sobering year for those in power

Devendra Fadnavis,

The year 2019 began with a stable BJP government in the state and another BJP government at the Centre hitting the campaign trail seeking re-election. The year is now ending with a three-party government in the state led by the Shiv Sena and supported by sworn enemies in the Congress and the NCP, whose expanded cabinet took oath on Monday.

One of the BJP's most powerful chief ministers, Devendra Fadnavis, is embroiled in a controversy over some scrawls in the official chief ministerial bungalow he recently vacated. Fadnavis could rightfully feel let down and stabbed in the back.

After all, he campaigned for re-election on the back of an uneventful five years and went into the elections with a firm pre-poll alliance with Sena. The people gave the alliance the mandate to rule, but the Sena would not be content with playing second fiddle anymore. It wanted an equal share of the chief minister's post, and it wanted it on its terms.

The BJP, which did not take the threat seriously, woke up late and scrambled to poach Ajit Pawar, for what turned out to be only 80 hours. Fadnavis will now be watching the Maha Vikas Aghadi's moves closely and he has already shown signs of being an aggressive opposition leader.

The more worrisome developments seem to have happened at the Centre. The BJP won a resounding majority mid-year, and immediately set about abolishing Article 370, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood and recently, passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Even as the economy went into a tailspin, this last move triggered thousands of youngsters from across the country into coming out on the streets.

Probably for the first time, the BJP is facing stiff opposition to its questionable designs. And this opposition has not come from the Congress or the mainstream media, or democratic institutions, but from the most unbridled section of any society - students.

The party is now in damage-control mode, but it would do well to accede to the students' demands and focus on things that matter. A good New Year resolution for it would be: end its exclusionary politics and make the revival of the economy as its foremost task.

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