Do you think Rafale Deal controversy will affect BJP in General Election 2019?

There are 3 ways to look at it.

The whole Rafale fighter jet deal reeks of suspicion and scandalous decisions. And it’s quite evident when looking at the matter closely, beyond the headlines.

• How a government comes in power, alters the previous deal with France, tells it wants to save money yet ends up spending more than what the previous deal underlined, brings offshore parties in the deal (including one powerful industrialist capitalist who’s known to be closer to top-ranks in BJP), and then bluntly claims that it can’t reveal the details of the deal because of the security reasons—it’s clearly messed up.

It matters Rs 58,000-crore to the taxpayers of the country. It could possibly be India’s biggest defense scam in history.

BUT it’s fascinating how this mammoth-like controversy falls outside the spectrum of Primetime bulletins of the mainstream media. Except for NDTV, I don’t see any big media house pick up this issue. Why? The same media goes berserk about Bofors (and rightly so)—and they are hauntingly calm about the Rafale deal controversy.

So, with the majority of media busy bringing the Hindu-Muslim debates and sidestepping this, a rather critical issue which, btw, costs Rs 58,000 crore to the taxpayers, I don’t think Rafale deal controversy would make up to the important political discussion in the runner-up to General Election 2019.

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

• Coming to another aspect of the issue, regular voters of the country simply do not care about the Rafale deal. In part, of course, due to media’s reluctance to bring the issue credibly and intensively in the spotlight. But at large, the deal, even with all its vastness, does not touch the core problems of voters like employment, clean water, and farmers. So, they do not care about it!

So, even when some will try to pick the Rafale deal controversy, it wouldn’t hit home with the voters.

• The third way to look at it is the incompetency of Congress. It’s mind-boggling how even after 4 years since the devastating defeat in 2014, Congress remains cowering in the shade, fighting to save its existence. If Congress does look to be in a better position today, it’s not necessarilybecause of their own strategy but because of incumbency against BJP.

Congress (and other opposition) have failed to pick up the Rafale Deal controversy with much rigor. They have failed to score with this issue in a big way. So, this is going to be another reason why the controversy-cum-scandal won’t be an issue in General Election 2019.

So, in short, even when it should, Rafale deal controversy won’t live long and strong in the runner-up campaign of the General Election 2019.

(Courtesy: Swarajya)