Lok Sabha election result big picture: What worked, what did not and why

While the BJP made nationalism the centerpiece of its election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, the opposition banked on consolation of the middle and low-caste votes - the latter did not work

With a saffron tide washing over most of India, the question that needs answering is: What worked and what did not, and why?

Nationalism or ‘rashtra hit’ was the central theme adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Lok Sabha election campaign, especially in Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition adopted middle- and low-caste unity as its central theme in the state against the ‘thakurvad’ of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The former worked, the latter did not, and it is now evident that not just Dalits but also Other Backward Classes (OBCs), including Yadavs, and possibly even some Muslims, voted the