Narrative does not change anything on the ground. Conversations are for social media feeds and tv studios. Politics is changed at the ballot box only. People of Jharkhand wanted a local leader to helm affairs. Similarly a national counter factual is needed, a different story to change the conversation. Regional leaders can only do so much. The country hates khichadi sarkar of the 1990’s. The politics at the state and the centre are increasingly divergent. Another factor is the presence of booth level machinery of the Sangh. Congress has no match for that deep state. Any organisation which has survived two bans, and is 95 years old and still growing has resilience. This is a full blown culture war, that cannot be won by popular protests on the street. Alternatives due to this agitation will flower such as Asad Saab and Arvind ji.