May 31, 2024
This 2024 Lok Sabha elections is touted as potentially the last election in a democratic India, and therefore many political commentators, intellectuals and the few remaining brave men in the opposition are of the belief that this might be the last ditch to save the world’s largest democracy. Although the India’s TV news channels (Godi Media), the ‘WhatsApp university’ and the ruling Indian middle class refuses to see the obvious and instead have been indulging in hero worshipping of a political leader that refuses to see himself as a biological human. On public platforms during his rallies, the supreme leader openly states “All Animals in the farm are equal, but some Animals in the farm cannot be trusted” and on even days while on TV speaking up, close and personal with friendly journalists retracts his comments saying “Some Animals in the farm cannot be trusted, but never specified the kind and species of animals”.
In January this year, riding high after the jubilant and ritualistic inauguration of the renovated ancient Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, Prime Minister Modi buoyantly raised the slogan “Ab Ki baar Chaarso Paar” propelling the hapless opposition into further retreat. The news channels both at state and national level went berserk over this event for about a week and the entire country was muddled in euphoria. As weeks and months followed, and with backdrop of the infamous, controversial and corrupt ‘Electoral Bonds’ investigation by the supreme court, by far one of the worst cases of political corruption in the country’s history and the increasing localisation of social and economic issues have nullified all the advantages and the confidence the BJP had gained few months ago.
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The problem with the sloganeering of ‘400 plus proved to be a double-edged sword. In one end, it did charge up the BJP voter base, but it also sent concerning signals to various classes and sections of India’s society. Few, BJP and RSS member have come out and openly claimed that 400 plus seats was necessary to rip apart the Indian constitution and rewrite it the ‘BJP or the RSS way’. Statements like these have caused major distress among the Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes and other religious minority population across the country. For the Dalits and the Adivasis of India, BR Ambedkar and the constitution of india is tantamount to ‘Prophet and the holy book’, without which they would be invisibilsed and plunged to their past.
The attack on constitution and efforts to save it from being torn apart (Amended or distorted) became the most important agenda in the campaign as the opposition parties thrusted heavily on the narrative, culminating towards a rather unexpected to-way fight between the gigantic NDA headed by the BJP and the underdog INDIA alliance lead by Congress. The third and forth fronts are now completely out of the equation. The RSS which is gearing up to celebrate its centenary in 2025, always had an eye on amending the constitution of India, which has its influence from secular, diverse and traditional values of Indian history, totally contrary to the principle and though base of the Sangh Parivar.
Professor Parakalla Prabhakar, the renowned Indian Economist, Political Analyst and the husband of India’s Finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman said in a recent interview with Karan Thapar that “The 2024 election is a battle between the BJP and the general public”, indicating the irrelevance of the opposition political parties and their power to overturn the elections. Mr. Prabhakar is a political insider who had affiliations with Congress and the BJP in the past. A sharp intellect with a fondness for detail. Mr. Prabhakar says that Economic issues and overfeeding of brand Modi by media has left people frustrated and the poor people across the country are standing up against the bulwark of fascism. The opposition parties might only be the beneficiaries as it happened the state elections of Karnataka and Telangana. When, the interviewer Karan Thapar asked him about the fate of the Lok Sabha election results, Mr. Prabhakar responded rather pessimistically about BJP’s chances and astonishingly claimed that the ruling party would end up 70 seats less than their previous tally, invariably resorting them to the opposition status.
Mr. Prabhakar further said that, a return to power for the third time for Modi and the BJP may lead into devastating consequences that would tear apart the constitutional leaflets resulting in expulsion of religious minorities or even forced exodus. According to Prabhakar, the national media channels and their Pollsters are hyping Modi’s popularity and at the same time using outdated and obsolete methods of poll survey. Mr. Prabhakar has a spectacular analysis of historical electoral data, he goes back to the Nehruvian age, when a small-time opposition backed by the RSS called the Jan Sangh (the predecessor to the modern-day BJP) which propagated hardline Hindutva philosophy could only grab less that five percent of voteshare nationwide. It took RSS-BJP decades to come with other surrogative narratives. It was when BJP under Vajpayee in the late 1990s and under Modi in 2014 and 2019, in which the elections were fought on issues of development, economic progress and national security that the party gained massive jump in vote share reaching a maximum of 37 percent. This time, the BJP has tanked all its punch lines and are banking only on divisive and hate based narrative, which might ultimately prove fatal to their chances.
Prabhakar firmly and confidently estimates a maximum of 220 Seats to the BJP and about 35 seats to its allies the NDA (National democratic Alliance). He also adds a caveat to the NDA team, denoting that none of the allies of the BJP are ideologically linked. Most of them are just nominal allies or fill-ins in the regional belts. If they perceive BJP as a weak and not the greatest mate to team up, they might sneak out and look for other options. On the Final question, where Thapar asked him about the fate of Narendra Modi, if BJP is out of power, Mr. Prabhakar responded with a rather tongue in cheek cryptic undertone saying “Dictators either end up in Handcuffs or in Coffins”!
On the other side, the six phases of the general elections that has polled over 500 Lok Sabha constituencies, has seen major drop in the percentage of voter turnout with rapidly low enthusiasm among general public. It is an indication on two grounds, one is the government’s response to core issues that impact people’s daily lives like unemployment, inflation and accessibilities to basic necessities. The second is the manner in which the core and the sacred governmental institutions have been tampered by the ruling government in order to push their political goals, has culminated in the loss of trust in the democratic process itself.
The diabolic descend of India’s institutions has also seen the massive proliferation of the Election Commission as well, as its efforts to bring back the ruling party back to power will be etched in the annals of Indian history. For the BJP to hit the magic number of 272 from the situation that it was in the first two phases of elections, then two factors might have to play a vital role: 1. The Indian middle class and 2. Women. The Indian middle class largely in the urban areas have constructed a jungle of themselves. Their newsbytes arrive through early morning WhatsApp forwards, a yoga session or a post morning walk get together in the parks. Some of the comments that dish out of their mouths are most vitriolic and disturbing. From calling for bombing of the neighbouring Pakistan to spewing venomous remarks against the large Muslim population in the country and in recent times extended to Sikh community too. Meanwhile, the same middle class has created deity of their own: Prime Minister Modi. In their minds, he could do no wrong and is beyond any criticism. The Women in India and for the matter are not deep political thinkers. They are largely not news junkies and also do not beat their chest in flaunting their ethno-national identities or get into a verbal debate on political matters. For Women in india, irrespective of cast and religious backgrounds, characters like Modi appeal the most, who’s been portrayed as a selfless bachelor striving hard to put his country and his fellow countrymen in the political map. The other burning issues relating to economy, fundamental rights, future of democracy are either beyond their comprehension or indifferent to them. The return of Modi to power and the days that follow might have consequential impact in future if nations history.
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