What brought about the fall of the BJP Empire?

BJP is a large national party. What did they stand for in this election? Hindutva or secularism or the economy? Did they stand for health care or technology enablement in the country? Did they stand for strong international policies or did they stand for domestic security? Did they stand for Roti, Kapda aur Makaan? Did they stand for education and commerce?

Actually they stood for all of these. All of these are needed for India today! So, where is it that they went wrong? Should they blame Congress, the Left or themselves? Here are four possible reasons why they have lost:

01. Positioning of the party moved from plank to plank. This was the biggest blunder. Any marketer would want to have a focused campaign with a single minded proposition. Unfortunately, BJP did not follow this basic marketing principle. Maybe, they did not have any strong plank to promote.

02. BJP tried to score political points in time of a disaster – 26/11, Mumbai attacks. This actually backfired on them. Insensitivity to the voters’ feeling was a key contribution for their failure.

03. Personal attacks on the Prime Minister – weak vs. strong. This actually showed, that they were again insensitive to people who have contributed to the growth of the country – cutting across party lines. Plus the reason for this attack as seen by voters is the fact that BJP does not have any plank to make a pitch or debate.

04. Last reason but no the least, was the support for non-secular Varun. This was another tactical move by the BJP to showcase their pro-Hindutva stand. This was another piece that backfired for them – although it built a political career of a non-existing Varun.

In short, BJP was insensitive, lacked positioning (read as lack of real agenda), indulged in personal attacks rather than attacks on issues and finally they supported Talibanization within India.

And yes, they paid the price. Two pieces of advise to the BJP:
a) They should have some strong differentiated issues and agenda
b) They should hire a good marketing organization the next time around!