In my previous column, I had written that after the first phase of polling, the desperation is visible in the Hindutvavadi camp. Within two weeks now definite panic is discernible. At a time when the third phase of polling is on, the Bharatiya Janata Party needs to do some serious damage control if it wants a third term for the party at the Centre. The biggest failing of the BJP campaign is the absence of a national narrative to attract voters and keep the opposition defensive. Rather, BJP is in reactive mode and the Opposition led by the Congress is setting the agenda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scathing attack on the Congress’s manifesto and subsequent clarification by Amit Shah and others, that the BJP will neither change the Constitution nor will it abolish reservation, underlines the nervousness in the BJP and among its supporters. Modi is creatively blessed in terms of being able to weave a narrative and keep the Opposition on the defensive. He is such a brilliant communicator that once he realises that a certain narrative is not working, he has the ability, which he has shown in the past, to change the narrative in no time. It is surprising that till now he has failed to do the same.

As I have said in my earlier column, one of the most striking features of the election this time is lack of enthusiasm amongst the electorate, with voters across the country having shown a certain indifference towards the polling. Dip in the poll percentage in both the phases is an indicator of the same. This has made the election more complicated, and experts are in no position to draw any conclusions with regard to how many seats the BJP will get. The BJP has claimed that the party will get 370 seats and it will cross the 400 mark with the help of its regional allies. That talk is no longer heard. Now, what is most often........

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