At the beginning of 2017, there was a strong belief that with demonetization, Modi had basically shot himself in the foot and would be resoundingly rebuffed in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election. After the Gujarat polls, it is being suggested that India is getting mentally prepared to look at a post-Modi situation after 2019. By the end of the year, the BJP had also retained Gujarat and ousted the Congress from Himachal Pradesh. In the Gujarat election, exit poll data revealed that BJP support among under-25 age group voters and women was significantly higher than the state aggregate. This approach, however, can only work if the other two planks - the leadership of Modi and the government's performance - are intact.

Source: The Telegraph December 27, 2017 18:33 UTC