Demonetization did not stop Modi from victory

The Prime Minister of India’s party, Bharatiya Janata has emerged victorious in 2 of the 5 states in the 2017 State Assembly Elections, leading in the bellwether state, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi’s BJP was leading with 290 seat at 10.30am New Delhi local time, gaining more than 222 seats since the 2012 State Assembly polls. Trailing far behind was the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress coalition, losing the 172 seats it won in 2012.

BJP's victory in Uttar Pradesh defies the negative sentiments following the demonetization of the 500 and 1,000 Indian Rupee notes, overnight, by Narendra Modi in November of 2016. These are the two most widely used notes, 86 percent of the circulation, in India.

The almost immediate ban of these two notes created a wave of panic and chaos in a cash predominant economy. Modi’s aim was to take down corruption, the shadow illegal economy in India. India is ranked the 79th out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perception Index with a score of 40/100.

The demonization is expected to impact the nation’s GDP, by as much as 1 percent in 2016.

Senior journalists at India’s news station NDTV saw the ‘Saffron Holi’, referring to the prominent colour on to BJP’s flag, in Uttar Pradesh as an indicator of the National Election in 2019. The state of Uttar Pradesh contributes 80 seats, the biggest number of seats amongst India’s 30 states, to the 545 seats in the Lok Sabha or the Lower House.

The SP and Congress coalition in Uttar Pradesh, led by incumbent Chief Minister, Akilesh Yadav and Congress’ Vice President Rahul Gandhi failed to win hearts and trust of the voters in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav’s insistence to partner with Congress in Uttar Pradesh led to a very public row with his father and SP's founder, Mualayam Singh Yadev, which nearly split the party just before the election. Indian media reported that this coalition is the main cause to SP and Congress’s lost in Uttar Pradesh.

Early reports by NDTV stated that the traces of this coalition, slogans and life sized cut outs of Rahul Gandhi, have now gone for good at the SP party headquarter in Lucknow.

In other states, Congress won in the state of Punjab, Uttarakhand goes to BJP. The race in Manipur and Goa were too close to call at 10.30am.

The elections in the 5 states saw a huge turnout in Manipur with 86 percent and Punjab (78.6%), Uttarakhand (65%), Uttar Pradesh 57-66% and Goa (83%).

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