India, Dec. 1 -- These days, Tejashwi Yadav is the target of intense trolling. Before him, the Hooda family in Haryana and the Thackerays in Maharashtra were subjected to the same treatment. So, is the battle of victory and defeat in electoral politics a tussle between dynasts versus the rest? Absolutely not. If dynastic politics were the only bane, then Hemant Soren in Jharkhand would have suffered a drubbing as was witnessed in the Maharashtra and Haryana polls. Soren not only bucked incumbency, but his party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), returned with more seats than earlier. He proved that to win an election, you have to break the strategic contours of your opponent before humbling them. Taking a leaf out of his opponents' playbook, Soren, on the lines of Maharashtra's Majhi Ladki Bahin and Madhya Pradesh's Ladli Behna schemes, launched his own Maiya Samman scheme and systematically implemented it on the ground. With many other welfare initiatives, he tried to address the rights and needs of every voter segment. Even then, anti-incumbency could have played spoilsport, but his arrest gave him a shot in the arm. The assembly elections added to his assembly seats while the Congress's tally remained unchanged at 16. The trends are clear in states where the Congress is the junior partner. Despite a supporting wave, the party is incapable of cashing in on it. We can debate whether the distribution of freebies just before the elections has emerged as a unique new strategy to secure victory. However, this is the second popular but partial truth. Arvind Kejriwal initiated this trend and became its victim during the last Delhi assembly elections. After providing almost all the basic amenities such as electricity, water, health care, and education for free, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emptied out the exchequer. As a result, once-cash-rich Delhi fell victim to a cash crunch, slowing down development and maintenance work. The results were evident. You may ask if Soren benefitted from going to jail, then why couldn't Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, who, along with many of their lieutenants, spent months behind bars, pull off a victory? We shouldn't forget that Kejriwal entered politics riding on a moral high horse, a veritable political knight in shining armour. However, his image started unravelling the moment news of the expensive refurbishing of his official quarters appeared in the media. People couldn't digest this volte face. Are the BJP leaders immune to this weakness? It's true that since assuming power, a change in the behaviour and probity of some of the BJP leaders is visible. However, the saffron party never lets its ideological flow be interrupted by individual shallowness. No corruption charges have ever stuck to any of their top leaders. They do shower freebies, keeping the health of the exchequer in mind. Fundamental development remains their focus and calling card. Unlike the Opposition, the BJP never rests on its laurels. The moment one election is over, it starts preparing for the next. Victory celebrations in Bihar were still on when the top party strategists and Union home minister Amit Shah deputed six organisational secretaries for the West Bengal assembly elections. As the elections near, the BJP's firepower will keep increasing. The question is: What options do the Opposition parties have? They should invest themselves in the concept of 24x7 politics. It's imperative for the morale of their workers that their leaders are available all the time. The days of appearing just before the elections and vanishing till the next voting are over. Also, they will have to launch street movements related to people's problems. They shouldn't hesitate about getting lathi-charged or going to jail. I remember the 1991 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party was left with just 34 seats. The BJP came to power for the first time with a clear majority. Their firebrand leader from Other Backward Communities (OBC), Kalyan Singh, had just taken oath as chief minister. I visited Mulayam Singh at his residence in Lucknow. During the initial conversation, he confidently said that he would tour the state in two months and win the elections the next time. He did what he promised. Lalu Prasad, Bal Thackeray, and others did the same thing when the need arose. Even Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, after losing power in 1977, displayed political resilience from Parliament to the streets. So, the writing on the wall is clear: Predecessors of the present political princelings believed in political struggle rather than coining catchy slogans. The problem is not in dynastic politics but the way it is being played out. Despite the fact that they are up against the well-oiled election machinery of the BJP, they are content with fighting on social media. Street campaigns are in their party's DNA, but they haven't displayed the necessary will to undertake that messy struggle. They merely coin hollow slogans, and that too remains confined to mere photo-ops. Within their own clan, an intense power struggle wages constantly, and they put up a show of being the undisputed leader. Last but not least, their spokespersons make a hash of an already precarious situation. Some cross all the limits of decency and logic. Every party has their bad apples, but the RJD is overflowing with them. Tejashwi Yadav became a victim of these self-styled party spokespersons. Their behaviour on TV channels was enough to give a glimpse of the "jungle raj". Dejection is becoming the destiny of those who yearn for a strong Opposition for a healthy democracy. If the Opposition doesn't break this predictable and disappointing performance, it will create far graver concerns for India's democracy....