CJP protests shake Delhi: Can the BJP withstand the political storm?

Delhi Police might have ensured a stronger, better-planned response to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in Delhi, along with a strategy to prevent people from gathering at the protest site. Still, the underlying question is whether this is enough to quell the anti-government sentiments and enable Chief Election Commissioner  (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to continue in his post.

“It is difficult for a protest to die down, seeing that they have been waiting for this moment for the past few years. People come out when they feel the anger, and when there is a collective anger against the government, it creates a movement that is difficult to stop through suppressive tactics such as the use of police,” said Aditya Rathi, a political analyst.

However, this public mobilisation is multilayered. For the past four years, the  Congress has been talking about vote theft. Then, the Cockroach Janta Party came along and mobilised people on a mass scale, successfully ousting Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP’s key minister of education. This put the BJP on the back foot for the first time. Then came the difficult task of bringing Opposition parties together on the issue. All non-NDA parties are together now on the "vote theft" issue, an unprecedented event.  Some parties may not have shared a stage with the  Congress, and some may have spoken from their home states, but everyone seems to have dug their heels in to confront the BJP government.

Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Jawed Ali Khan said that parties coming together is not always about elections. “The parties and their leaders feel this is the time to protect the Constitution and democracy, and everyone realises there are flaws and a lack of transparency in electoral procedures,” he said.

On one side, there is public mobilisation by the CJP; then there is a united Opposition that is coming closer by the day to confront the BJP. Thirdly, opinion-makers have already started talking about a political shift, suggesting that the BJP may not be able to control the situation. The public also seems to be vocally against the government. None of these elements was earlier visible to a degree that could have been considered a factor against the BJP. But now, all these elements have started complementing each other.

The BJP is also in a catch-22 situation. If it cedes its standing and holds Gyanesh Kumar accountable, the next finger will be pointed towards itself. And if they don't, the continued protests and the United opposition's sustained attacks on it could weaken its standing and impact the upcoming polls in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, a state that it has tried to hold dear.