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The restrictions benefitted the BJP which not only has imposing offices in every district but also boasts of a unit of its IT Cell in the districts. The voters are already clubbed into different WA groups and there is a well-oiled machinery to forward messages, fake news, instructions etc. So, BJP was the least affected by the restrictions.The opposition has also accused the media of blacking out or downplaying their rallies. While cursory and short visuals were aired, they were enough to suggest the wind on the opposition’s sail. On the other hand, there were reports of BJP leaders cancelling rallies because of poor turnout.At dozens of places, people, mostly the young and the unemployed, forced BJP leaders to leave without addressing gatherings. In some places vehicles in their motorcade were damaged. Even deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had to leave a village abruptly after facing a hostile crowd. The restrictions came as a boon for the ruling BJP, joked many people.For the opposition now, the restrictions pose a challenge similar to building a dam on a river in spate, quips Samajwadi Party’s Javed Ali Khan. Khan, a former Rajya Sabha MP is one of the star campaigners for his party.While BJP has an IT cell at the district level, Congress, BSP, Samajwadi Party, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Mahan Dal and Peace Party are dependent on their cadres for carrying their message. The poor masses too want to travel to the nearest city or town at the expense of these parties and hear leaders speak to them ‘face to face’ and not on a screen.
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Election Commission’s restrictions constrain the opposition, not the BJP
