Telangana greets Amit Shah's 'power' claims with quick thumbs down

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), often loathed across the spectrum of politics for its over-the-board mind games, has unleashed one more of this ilk, in a desperate attempt to influence the popular opinion in Telangana. It came from none other than its Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.

The BJP strongman, clearly looking for ways to lift the morale of its cadre in the state after the Munugode drubbing, made a grand announcement that his party would form the next government in Telangana. What's more, Amit Shah also bragged about the BJP storming to power with a huge majority. Almost speaking on behalf of the populace, he said that the people of Telangana were yearning for a change and conveniently made it the premise for his tall claim.

But within hours of his statement, both Amit Shah and the BJP rank and file in Telangana were forced into a reality check: They were quickly trolled and ridiculed on social media for their 'feet-off-the-ground' tactics. The mainstream media too went into an overdrive to get the hang of the public mood. In one such initiative, popular vernacular news channel TV9 Telugu ran an opinion poll on its Twitter handle (@TV9Telugu). It asked its followers and viewers if they concurred with Amit Shah's claim that the BJP would form the next government in Telangana, that too, with a huge majority. Pat came the answer in the form of an emphatic 'No'. About 85 percent participants of the poll voted against Amit Shah's prediction while only 15 percent thought otherwise.

The outcome of the opinion poll is only being viewed as the tip of an iceberg. If political analysts are anything to go by, the latest poll result amply reflects a larger prevailing mood on the ground. Only an invisible magic wand can see the BJP taking the reins of the state since people see it many galaxies behind the TRS in every aspect, be it its strength on the ground or in the Legislature.

All that the BJP managed after the 2018 elections was one Assembly seat before it could add two more in the subsequent by-elections. And there was no visible groundswell of popular support for the saffron party since then to point to a remote possibility of a major political upheaval in the State. And for this precise reason, the common man finds the saffron claims far from convincing, as was evident from the opinion poll.

According to the political readers, Amit Shah's attempts were clearly meant to play to the gallery, more to keep his party's own flock together after the demoralising defeat in Munugode. They feel that the BJP was only using its standard template to painstakingly contrive the popular perception, something that they have been relentlessly using in West Bengal even till today despite heavy setbacks at the hustings.