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Regional parties are here to stay, says Yogendra Yadhav

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The era of regional parties will not end even though BJP has been spreading its wings across the country, because, to have a bipolar democratic system, two national parties need to be strong and in commanding positions in all states, said Yogendra Yadav, psephologist and senior Aam Adami Party leader.

Speaking at the Mumbai Press Club on Tuesday, Yadav said while on the one hand BJP was getting stronger, on the other, there was no sign of the shrinking Congress bouncing back. "Congress leadership has no guts and instinct to bounce back. In the past, Congress has re-emerged twice, but that was because it had strong leadership. That's missing in Congress today. And the vacuum created by Congress' shrinking space will be occupied by small and regional parties of respective states," said Yadav.

To end the regional party era, at least two national parties should be strong and present in all states. "Earlier the Congress was strong and now the BJP is. But Congress with 44 MPs does not even have a strong presence in the opposition. And, what is more interesting is that wherever Congress has below 20% vote shares, it has faced difficulties in resurfacing as a good alternative.

In southern states like Tamilnadu, and in UP and Bihar in the north, Congress is nowhere in the picture now. The same situation would arise in Maharashtra and Haryana," Yadav added.

Attributing BJP's Lok Sabha victory to Modi, Yadav said Modi filled the vacuum of strong leadership, cultural identity and development model–Gujarat. "The vacuum was created by the UPA government. Anna's anti-corruption movement had demolished UPA regime morally, and BJP tapped this space by using an effective election machinery and media, and a combination of small party and regional forces in certain states," said Yadav.

Congress, to survive, would have to reorient itself by creating new icons and policies. "Visibility is important now. The era of symbolism and traditional secularism seems to have come to an end. Nehru style secularism will not work now. We have to reinvent Gandhian secularism. We have to change the language and idioms of secularism. People are looking beyond symbolism, therefore Muslims and Dalits deserted Congress and joined alternatives forces," said Yadav.

In politics, perception is more important than ground reality. "BJP was successful in creating the perception that Congress had failed on all fronts and that it could provide a strong alternative. And that worked for them. So far, BJP has been successful, but it would not succeed in Delhi. That's why it's refusing to hold elections in Delhi. AAP has a strong face for CM, BJP doesn't. We are confident that in Delhi sooner than later AAP will come back with a majority," Yadav added.

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