Voters’ limited menu | The Indian Express

Voters’ limited menu | The Indian Express

Written by Girish Luthra |Updated: May 28, 2019 2:30:46 am

The writer is former Commander-in-Chief of Western Naval Command and Southern Naval Command.

Voters’ limited menu

Democracy demands credible alternatives. The onus is on the Opposition

The BJP and NDA must payback the confidence reposed in them by the people. The government should fulfill the unfulfilled, or partially-fulfilled, promises of the BJP’s 2014 manifesto. (File/PTI)

The landslide victory of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance — in the Lok Sabha elections is an impressive repeat of the alliance’s 2014 performance. There is, however, one major difference. The euphoria witnessed after the 2014 verdict seems to be absent this time. This can, of course, be expected, given that an incumbent government has won another term, and change — with attendant hope and new aspirations — is not the fundamental message of the election verdict. But a significant reason for this lack of excitement is also the electorate’s realisation about the lack of a credible alternative to the alliance holding office at the Centre.