Democracy Saved - And How?

After a ten year hiatus the Indian voter has re-asserted her belief in democracy. The people have defied manipulations, hate, threats, intimidation to cast as free a vote as possible in the parliamentary election that has shown the door to exit poll and media manipulators. The Bharatiya Janata Party has been denied a simple majority, while the I.N.D.I.A. block has been given a rousing mandate despite the odds stacked against the Congress and the regional parties seeking to save democracy and the Constitution of India.

The blame for the poor performance of the BJP can be taken directly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who were projected by themselves and the party as the two in charge of the general elections – from seat allocation, to funds, to the campaign. The BJP as always was barely visible in the campaign with the state and central leaders virtually eclipsed by PM Modi whose campaign turned increasingly virulent as the elections progressed. After the first phase his speeches started targeting the Muslims and the Opposition leaders in words that went against the concept of peace and harmony.

The vitriol increased as the rumours spread about poor and unenthusiastic turnout in the BJP rallies, and the non cooperation of Chief Ministers like the influential Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh. The RSS was also found less active than in the previous elections, with the PM and his Home Minister largely left to fend for themselves in the field. It was apparent from the first phase of the polling itself that the Ram Mandir issue was not drawing dividends; and nor was the hate campaign that seemed to be leaving the voters unmoved. The constant reference to the ‘Muslim’ as the results have now shown did not cut ice in most of the states where the BJP has lost seats, with the sole exception of Odisha and Bihar where the party has improved its position. And Uttarakhand where it has won all the Lok Sabha seats.

Perhaps the two most dramatic turnarounds in these elections have been Uttar Pradesh followed by West Bengal where the people have voted to loosen the BJP’s grip and stall its rise very effectively. In UP three factors worked to make the I.N.D.I.A alliance appear more effective than the BJP:

One, the effort put in by both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to raise the image of the Congress party in the state as an important national level alternative;

Two, the smooth alliance and seat adjustment between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress party, with the camaraderie between Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi striking a reassuring chord with the watchful voters;

and Three, Akhilesh Yadav’s own effort along with the reinvigoration of the Samajwadi party and its rather formidable organisation in UP.

In West Bengal, despite the dire Exit poll predictions, Mamata Banerjee has held her ground much to the visible discomfiture of the embedded media. In her case it was sheer diligence and hard work, where she left nothing to chance. She supported the I.N.D.I.A bloc and fought an extremely tough battle, like the entire Opposition that did not compromise with the BJP and insisted on defending democracy.

Five main factors worked for I.N.D.I.A that almost turned the seven phase election in states like UP into a wave

1. The Campaign. A strong, cohesive campaign where all leaders hammered home the need to “Save the Constitution” warning the people this was their last chance. This resonated with the voters, who came out in droves to vote and help save democracy in the country. Every point made by PM Modi was countered effectively by the Opposition leaders, all across the states. For instance the effort by the Prime Minister to convince the voters that an I.N.D.I.A victory would take away reservation from the Dalits and scheduled tribes and favour the Muslims did not work as it was immediately countered in all Opposition public rallies and press conferences.
2. Civil Society. More and more sections of society have been impacted by policies, arrests, intimidation, over the past ten years. Students, women, activists, academics, lawyers, civil servants all came together to join the campaign on social media with memes, posts, fact checks and humour. This effort was ceaseless and dominated the social media that was once the BJP preserve. In 2014 in fact, the BJP took over social media without any challenge, and it has taken ten years for Opposition leaders and civil society to mount an effective — and now it seems more than effective—- counter. Civil society called out the BJP and the PM for lies and half truths, and mounted a vigilant campaign that had a visible impact on the urban, and later the rural voters as well.
3. Rahul Gandhi. This is in itself a separate story but Rahul Gandhi was the first Indian politician after the BJP came to power to break the barrier of fear. His Bharat Jodo yatras created tremendous impact on this front, and brought people and politicians out into the field. The Congress might not have benefited from this directly in states, but it created an environment that penetrated the fog of tension and fear and challenged the ruling regime of the time. The larger than life image created by the BJP and its top leadership was thus, effectively dented. It also wiped out the preceding propaganda questioning the ability and capability of Rahul Gandhi as a leader. His courage enabled him to counter the vicious attack on him without blinking an eye, and this helped the regional leaders join the political battle after some initial hesitation. Besides this, Rahul Gandhi took the leadership through the party president Mallikarjun Kharge to forge alliances with the regional parties without allowing political ambitions and expediency to come in the way. Egos were soothed and parliamentary seats were shared with the regional parties without the Congress party throwing its weight around. This in itself was a major change that ensured the emergence and the sustainability of I.N.D.I.A. His essentially democratic nature also helped reach a consensus within the Congress party on many issues with party leaders directly giving him the credit for the manifesto boosted by the guarantees for different sections of society. This had an impact, and was shared in the field by the regional leaders as well.
4. Unity. After a fractious start the regional parties and the Congress party showed maturity and came together in a united whole. This helped create a choice in the voters mind, and cut into the propaganda by the embedded journalists for their mentors that there was no alternative to the BJP. The people were looking for an alternative and although the vote has been more anti-BJP than pro I.N.D.I.A, this has certainly helped the shift away. Indian voters do not like to ‘waste’ their votes, and are more responsive when they feel that there is another credible political party or grouping that could give them an effective government.
5. The Right Issues and a Separate Narrative. This is perhaps the most important as for the first time the Opposition parties were able to move away from the BJP narrative to find one of their own. Save the Constitution, federalism was all intertwined with Joblessness, Price Rise, and guarantees for farmers, youth, women, and all other sections of society. This with the opposition parties direct attack on the BJP and PM Modi for curtailing liberty and rights, and for intimidating not just individuals but the political parties, cut into the narrative of the temple and the Muslim with the campaign exposing the absence of issues in the ruling party’s campaign. The Congress party in particular, came out of the soft Hindutva mode of the 2019 polls, and put up a fight on people’s issues of livelihood.