The results of the Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have reinforced the myth of the BJP’s invincibility in the age of Modi. And we are being offered this myth bundled with a whole set of obituaries as free gifts: an obituary for Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu, an epitaph for regional parties and for the INDIA coalition as a whole, and of course a eulogy for the good old legacy of the Left.

The myth of invincibility was almost (but not quite) demolished in 2024 when the BJP’s own tally stopped at 240, thirty-three short of a simple majority. Modi 3.0 was made possible only with the backing of two regional parties, the JD(U) and the TDP.

Since that partial setback, the regime has perfected the art of insulating elections from anti-incumbency shocks and manufacturing magical majorities by combining brazen systemic manipulation with meticulous social engineering. From Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi to Bihar and, most recently, Assam and West Bengal, we have seen this strategy at work in election after election.

While the Sangh’s post-2024 election strategy awaits an effective counter, the obituaries for the Opposition also need a reasoned rebuttal. For instance, let us consider the wishful obituaries that are being written for regional parties. The DMK-led coalition has surely suffered a big defeat, but it is not the BJP nor its ally AIADMK that replaced it. Instead, we witnessed the rise of yet another regional party in Tamil Nadu, the TVK, which seemed to live up to the meaning of its name (the Victory Party of Tamilakam).

The BJP may now be in power in 22 states and Union Territories, but in six of them, it still shares power with regional parties.

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If the defeat of the DMK and TMC is being presented as the beginning of the end of regional parties, the........

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