Hence, its characterization of its opponents as pro-Pakistani, a charge dutifully echoed by overtly patriotic TV channels. As Narendra Modi told an election rally, the opposition’s hatred for him has become hatred for the country, equating himself with the nation in a replay of a celebrated slogan coined by an Indira Gandhi acolyte during the emergency.

However, the most egregious of the prime minister’s comments even at a time when the two adversaries are fighting like Kilkenny cats was when he wanted to know whether a cure for dyslexia could of any help to a 40 or 50-year-old person to the relief of the latter’s mother.

The sniggering reference to Rahul and Sonia Gandhi was too stark to be missed. But it is rare for a prime minister to plumb the depths of acceptable conduct so egregiously. Evidently, the heat of the election battle is proving too much for some contenders, especially when doubts are appearing as to the efficacy of what was supposed to be a trump card – the air strike on the terrorist hideout of a sworn enemy.

For the BJP, the air strike was the ultimate weapon. It was expected to visibly boost the party’s poll prospects via a surge of patriotic fervour, creating a wave in the party’s favour that had been non-existent so far.

If the air strike fails to bring about a perceptible swing, to use a psephologist’s term, then all is lost. For it will almost seem like an admission of defeat to raise the Ram temple issue yet again as the RSS tried to do a few months ago to help a faltering BJP.

Since a Hindu renaissance, to quote BJP M.P. Subramanian Swamy, is unlikely to take place any time soon, the only option left for the BJP is to paint the opposition in the darkest of hues. But what may hamper its success in this endeavour is the sameness of the diatribe since describing the BJP’s opponents as anti-nationals has become its standard practice, especially in the last four-plus years. It is unlikely that the charge convinces anyone other than the faithful.

In a way, therefore, the political scene is back to where it was before the Pulwama tragedy, which led to the air raid. All that has happened is that the Kashmir problem may have become even more intractable with the government’s crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami and the arrests of the Hurriyat separatists.

The perception among the Muslims in Kashmir and elsewhere will be that Articles 370 and 35A are in a greater danger of abrogation than before. It is a belief that cannot but lead to a higher consolidation of Muslim votes against the BJP. The time is past when the BJP won 45 of the 87 parliamentary seats with a high percentage of Muslim voters in 2014.

But irrespective of whether the BJP is able to utilize the air strikes or fails to do so, the opposition will have to tread carefully to ensure that the allegations of being in cahoots with the nation’s enemy are effectively demolished as they were when the BJP “predicted” that the success of the secular camp in Bihar in 2015 will be joyously greeted in Pakistan.

The opposition will have to be all the more careful since its chances of success have brightened, albeit marginally. The first requirement in order to stay in the race is that as little comment as possible has to be made on the efficacy of the air strikes because the opposition faces an adversary who is adept at seizing every opportunity to twist an observation to make it sound treacherous.

There was no need, for instance, for the Congress’s self-declared loose cannon, Digvijay Singh,, to congratulate Pakistan’s “mananiya pradhan mantri”, Imran Khan, for releasing an Indian pilot or to pontificate on how modern-day technology makes it easy to ascertain the details of the destruction in Balakot. He should remain confined to his present sidelined position in Madhya Pradesh and not try to venture into national politics or diplomacy.

Any observations respect of the air strikes or relations with Pakistan should be left to Rahul Gandhi or senior opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar or Chandrababu Naidu. They will also have to be more alert in underlining the mischievous statements of the likes of Amit Shah, who referred to the UPA’s inaction on 26/11 while lauding Modi for the air strikes on Balakot, but remained silent on Atal Behari Vajpayee’s restraint in not crossing the Line of Control even after mobilizing the troops after the terrorist attack on parliament in 2001. (IPA Service)