- Reams and reams have been written on how the ruling dispensation at the Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, went about bombastically claiming that the ensuing Lok Sabha polls will be a cakewalk. Not only that the slogan Ab ki baar, 400 paar started resonating from every platform but also pronounced with such conviction right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi onwards. Such was the confidence of the BJP leadership that the narration became increasingly prominent even as the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced. All along, the opposition ranks did make earnest attempts at countering the tall claims, but such was the media frenzy created by the ruling dispensation that the voices simply remained unheard of.
PC: CNBC TV18
- However, once the campaigning picked up pace, things started unraveling even as ground reality started making sense to the discerning electorate. Looking from any angle, the tall claims of 400 plus seats in the Parliamentary election were not only unrealistic but also impossible to achieve in the backdrop of a lack of pro-incumbency or Modi wave as was the case in the previous two elections. The claim started sounding too arrogant as the seven-phase election meandered along. The result says it all. The BJP won 240 Parliamentary seats well below the majority mark of 272 on its own for the first time in the three Lok Sabha polls. What must be deduced from the Lok Sabha polls? Overconfidence causes costly errors, in politics, in business, and at work. Period.
- Make no mistake, what can be construed from the 2024 poll results is that Indian voters don’t like arrogance. Little wonder that the RSS also seems to share this reading. It’s not just Chief Bhagwat advising to be strong but gracious. The essay in the RSS mouthpiece also flays the overconfidence and false ego of many BJP leaders. Apparently. Overconfidence is not a danger unique to politics. When self-estimation remains defiant of all external assessments, that’s an HR manager’s nightmare. In business, banking, and medicine too, it can lead to damaging decisions. It can drive governments to wars, thinking these will be easily won. Indeed, overconfidence is the mother of all biases. History is replete with umpteen such occurrences leading to doom.
PC: The Statesman
- It plays into the stereotype of politicians as egomaniacs. But succeeding in politics does not only demand unusual drive and self-confidence. One must surrender ego from time to time too. Look not far from Chandrababu Naidu while going on alliance shopping ahead of the elections. He left his ego at home. Rahul has no qualms about strategizing with Kejriwal today. Modi and the BJP have been celebrating the NDA’s win, and not lamenting the absence of a BJP majority. Some honest soul-searching is the need of the hour. The ego is fine only when it works for one’s motivation. Otherwise, it is a big handicap. Yes, politics is sheer volatile. Remaining humble in the face of volatility separates a leader from a great leader. The BJP leadership should know this.
