Stating that Modi strategised his election campaign to deploy hate speech against the minorities, particularly Muslims, and create false sense of fear among the majority Hindus, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Modi “made statements inciting discrimination, hostility, and violence against marginalized groups during his campaign to win his third consecutive term of office.” HRW said that it analysed 173 campaign speeches made by Modi and found that Islamophobic remarks were made in at least 110 speeches. The human rights body observed that the Prime Minister “repeatedly described Muslims as “infiltrators” and claimed Muslims had “more children” than other communities, raising the spectre that Hindus—about 80 percent of the population—will become a minority in India.”  It also mentions the role of other BJP leaders in driving the hate agenda, including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Assam CM Himanta Sarma, and former Minister Anurag Thakur.

The report mentions that “Modi regularly raised fears among Hindus through false claims that their faith, their places of worship, their wealth, their land, and the safety of girls and women in their community would be under threat from Muslims if the opposition parties came to power.”

It quoted Modi’s May 14 speech in Koderma, Jharkhand during which he said, “the idols of our gods are being destroyed” and that “these infiltrators [Muslims] have threatened the security of our sisters and daughters.”  In another of his speech delivered in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, he said “If Congress has its way, it would say that the first right to live in India belongs to its vote bank [Muslims]. … Congress will give quota even in government contracts on the basis of religion.”

The rights body said the Election Commission of India failed to rein in the leader even after multiple complaints were sent to it against his election speeches which were clearly violative of the election’s code of conduct. HRW stated that “Despite finding that Modi and others had violated the guidelines, the commission only wrote to the office of the BJP president, without naming the prime minister, and asked that the BJP and its “star campaigners” refrain from making speeches along religious or communal lines. These directions did not deter Modi, who continued to make speeches inciting hate throughout the campaign period.” It also said that the country has witnessed a surge in anti-Muslim hate speech in India since the Modi administration first took office in 2014.

The study further notes that under the BJP rule, abuse and violence against Muslims, Christians, and other minorities have been normalised, with increased discriminatory policies promoted against the minorities. Commenting on the issue of demolitions carried by the authorities, often without due process of law, HRW said that these demolitions are often carried out as a “collective punishment” against the Muslim communities following communal clashes or dissent, and has been labelled as “Bulldozer Justice” by the members of the ruling regime.

Pointing out the increase in violence against the minorities by the vigilante groups and right-wing mobs, the rights body emphasises on the interlinkage between hate speech and physical attacks on the members of the marginalised groups. The report maintains that minorities have continued to face attacks since the election campaign period across the country. It stated that during 2014 election campaign Modi repeatedly called for protection of cows and strongly attacked Pink Revolution (meat production targets) touted by the then Congress government. As the BJP assumed the office, it further emphasised on statements promoting cow protection, which led to formation of numerous self-appointed cow-protection vigilante groups, and these organisations in turn drove attacks on minority communities with its virulent campaign against beef-consumption and cow slaughter, HRW noted. The study observed that “Between May 2015 and December 2018, at least 44 people—36 of them Muslims—were killed across 12 states. Over that same period, about 280 people were injured in more than 100 incidents across 20 states. The attacks have continued, with several more killed since then.”

On the increase in violence against Christians, it remarked that “Leaders from the BJP and affiliated Hindu nationalist groups have made statements that led to numerous mob attacks on churches in the last decade. In many cases, pastors have been beaten, prevented from holding religious meetings, and accused under anti-conversion laws, and churches have been vandalized.” In addition, it stated that in the aftermath of protests against farm laws which have since been withdrawn, the “anti-Sikh statements by BJP leaders led to a June 10 attack by two men on a Sikh man, whom they called Khalistani, in Haryana’s Kaithal district.”

The human rights body said that members of Hindu nationalist groups have also targeted the persecuted Rohingya Muslims living in Jammu and Delhi regions of the country. It said that after labelling Rohingya as “terrorists”, the right-wings groups have targeted their homes in arson, and noted that following a fire in Rohingya settlement in Delhi during which some 50 homes were burned in 2018, a BJP leader was reported posting on Twitter, saying “Well done by our heroes … Yes we burnt the houses of Rohingya terrorists.”

The report quoting the Asia Director of HRW said that “The Indian government’s claims of plurality and being the ‘mother of democracy’ ring hollow in the face of its abusive anti-minority actions,” and “The new Modi government needs to reverse its discriminatory policies, act on violence against minorities, and ensure justice for those affected.”

Related:

Complaints filed against PM Modi for promoting religious hatred during his Banswara rally, accusing opposition Congress of working to distribute country’s wealth to Muslims | SabrangIndia

Hate speech escalates in India amidst general assembly election campaigns | CJP

‘Inflammatory, communal’: Modi inciting hate in Jharkhand, poll official told | SabrangIndia

The post Human Rights Watch reports that Modi made at least 110 Islamophobic remarks during 2024 election campaign appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Vote for Democracy (Maharashtra) released its comprehensive election report on the conduct of Lok Sabha elections 2024 during an event organised on July 22 at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai. The publication, titled, “Report: Conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 – Analysis of ‘Vote Manipulation’ and ‘Misconduct during Voting and Counting’”, describes the alleged malpractices committed during the election cycle, the role of the Election Commission of India and Returning Officers, discrepancies reported between EVM votes polled and count, and vote hikes (“dumped” votes) per phase-wise, state-wise, and nationally. The report underlines that in total 5 crore votes were hiked (“dumped”) between initial voter turnout and final turnout, suggesting that the hike disproportionately helped the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The press release issued by VFD notes that “serious questions have been raised about the discrepancies between the total votes polled and votes counted, as well as, substantial unexplained hike in the turnout percentages by the Election Commission of India (ECI). While we do not doubt the credibility of the ECI, its conduct during this Lok Sabha election has made us, as citizens and voters, seriously concerned about the fair outcome of the electoral process.”

The report, in total containing 4 chapters, analyses through a series of tables the possible manipulation of election results, which it suggests has helped the ruling dispensation increase its seats tally in spite of total reduction in its seats tally. In order to help candidates identify the potential malpractice(s) in a constituency, the report has attached a checklist for figuring out the possible manipulation(s). Furthermore, as a legal resource, to emphasise on the integrity of the election process, the report also provides relevant judicial precedents and election laws, which are fundamental to the governance of election in a free and fair manner. In particular, the malpractices affecting the election outcomes in Mumbai North West and Farrukhabad parliamentary constituencies have been detailed in the publication.

Questioning the Election Commission

While highlighting the electoral malpractices, delay in declaration of initial turnout figures, and substantial hike in final turnout figures, VFD critiqued the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its silence on these issues. Flagging the delay in release of initial turnout figures and unexplained hike in the final turnout figures, the report says that for Phase 1 “The ECI did not explain as to why there was a substantial hike in the final figures, nor did the poll body explain the long delay (11 days!) in releasing the final figures and that too in percentages only.” It further said that ECI has not answered any specific questions regarding the jump in final voter turnout and discrepancies between EVM votes polled and count till date. The report also claimed that some candidates were either denied or not issued Form 17C, which records the accounts of votes polled at the end of the polling day.

Vote hike benefit ruling alliance

VFD observed that the substantial hike in final voter turnout compared to initial turnout data suggests that the ruling dispensation has benefitted most likely from these hikes. The report says that “it is pertinent to note that by this method of Voter turnout Hike in this Phase 2, there has been a sharply beneficial results for the NDA/BJP: in most of the states e.g. West Bengal 3/3, Uttar Pradesh 8/8, Madhya Pradesh 6/6, Chhattisgarh 3/3, Tripura 1/1, Jammu and Kashmir 1/1, Karnataka 12/14, Rajasthan 10/13 and Assam 4/5. Such a trend is not seen in the other 6 Phases of Polling including in the same states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan. In this Phase 2, the example of Kerala is unique in that the BJP in this Phase got one seat, stood 2nd in another seat and 3rd in other 14 out of a total of 20 seats in the state! There appears to be a clearcut manipulation here.” Furthermore, it said that close to 5 crore vote hikes has benefitted BJP/NDA to secure at least 76 seats, which it may have lost in the absence of such hike.

In particular, three tables, displaying the list of all the Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) where the winning margin/defeat margin has been under 1 lakh vote; where the discrepancies have been found between the EVM votes polled and EVM votes recovered within the defeat margin of 50000 votes or less; and shortlisted table containing constituencies where alleged malpractices have been reported are given in the report. Apart from these, more than a dozen tables are provided analysing several aspects of voter turnout hike, hike in absolute number of votes, and potential malpractice.

Conclusion

The report notes that “Vote for Democracy (VFD) is a Maharashtra-level citizens’ platform comprising individuals and organisations, established in 2023. Our mission is to ensure voter registration, raise voter awareness, and promote hate-free elections where accountability and transparency are paramount.” The findings of the study, it said, has been dedicated to citizens, civil society, activists and political leaders. Explaining the rationale behind the exercise, VFD said that umpteen media reports flagging the conduct of General Elections 2024 led it to conduct a thorough study of the electoral conduct on part of the Commission and analysis of the election exercise and final results.

While releasing the VFD Lok Sabha 2024 report, Teesta Setalvad said that the primary need to release the report came from the concern regarding manipulation of votes apart from the inaction of the ECI over several infringement of poll code and election laws during the conduct of general election, including its silence on the issue of hate speech.

MG Devasahayam noted that voters rights to know, a fundamental democratic principle, was violated by the conduct of the Election Commission. He remarked that the ECI committed fraud on the people of India by blatantly ignoring the Supreme Court directions, making subsequent corrections in the uploaded data, refusing Form 17C to some of the candidates, and remaining absent during the entire election cycle. Furthermore, he said that selective variation of votes has been observed in at least 80 constituencies and circumstantial evidence suggests manipulation of votes, resulting in the mandate being snatched away from the people. He also flagged other issues, including ballot paper manipulations, lack of CCTVs in the strong room, changing of EVM machines, and manipulation in data released.

Sebastian Morris observed that compared to the challenges faced while using ballot papers, EVMs are more vulnerable to being manipulated and given the decline in independence of constitutional bodies, this raises serious concerns. Morris said that right from the election of the ECI members, to selective interventions on violation of election rules, the behaviour of the ECI has been a sham. He also commented on the issue of delay in release of voter turnout data and subsequent hikes reported in such data and further noted that in as many as 79 seats, the hike in number of votes has been more than victory margins.

Dr. Harish Karnick, a retired IIT Kanpur Professor, said that ECI’s refusal to conduct complete cross-verification of EVM votes and with VVPAT remains unjustified, especially given the unexplained delay in the release of initial turnout data and subsequent hike in final turnout data. Dr. Karnick maintained that from the whole VVPAT fiasco to the erosion of the voter’s right to know who they voted for, there are records of these manipulations but no answers. He emphasised on the point that EVMs have exacerbated existing certain gaps in the electoral process, and ECI seems to have exploited those gaps.

Following on the grievances and issues raised in the said report, a joint legal notice was sent to the ECI by the members of the various civil society groups on July 18. The notice which was addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, and Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, demanded the following interventions from the ECI:

1. Thorough investigation into the issues raised and the irregularities/illegalities pointed out in the Notice for the information of the voting public who are the real stakeholders in any election.
2. Immediate remedial action on all the issues raised.
3. Setting aside the election of the illegally returned candidates on grounds of non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution or of RP Act or of any rules or orders made under this Act.
4. Immediate registration of FIR Under Section 129 of the RPA 1951, Section 65,66,66F of the IT Act, 200 and IPC Sections 171F/409/417/466/120B/201/34 and investigation into the roles of all involved, including ECI officials, BEL and ECIL engineers, and beneficiary parties.
5. Countermanding the election in the constituencies where large-scale spurious injection of votes have taken place as per the list in Annexure and ordering re-election.
6. Passing such other orders and further orders as may be deemed necessary on the facts and in upholding integrity and fairness of the elections for the future also.

Full Report is available on https://votefordemocracy.org.in

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As a result, we are witnessing yet another phase of coalition government at the Centre. For the last ten years, the Central Government has been dominated by one party and one leader. However, the recent positive changes are being lamented by the mainstream media. If the views expressed by establishment-backed writers in the media are anything to go by, an impression is being created that the era of coalition politics may hamper the growth rate and be an obstacle to “strong” economic reforms.

In what follows, I would critique such a top-down approach and argue that a coalition government is good for democracy and it is conducive to strengthening the rights of the people because it creates multiple centres of power and does not easily allow one party or person to dominate the political field.

But first, we need to differentiate democracy from majority rule. The RSS and the BJP are desperate to consolidate the majority of Hindus on religious grounds and forge a “communal” majority, but such a trend is antithetical to the democratic spirit. To understand this, we need to go back to Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Almost a century ago, when Dr. Ambedkar was active in politics, he anticipated the looming threat from the Hindu Right to India’s democracy. Addressing the Annual Session of the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation held in Bombay on May 6, 1945, Ambedkar spoke in unambiguous terms: “Much of the difficulty over the Communal Question is due to the insistence of the Hindus that the rule of majority is sacrosanct and that it must be maintained at all costs.”

The approach which was opposed by Dr. Ambedkar is what the BJP has done in the last ten years. Any criticism of the wrong policies of the Modi Government was rejected by the Hindu Right, saying that the BJP had the numbers while the Opposition had lost the legitimacy by losing elections.

But unlike the majoritarian logic of the RSS and the BJP, Ambedkar was quite clear that in a democracy, the government was formed by majority votes, but that did not mean that the rights of the minorities would be trampled under the strong heel of majoritarianism or the brute force of numbers. He said that “no one community is placed in a position to dominate others because of its numbers.”

Ambedkar was bang on target in defining the true spirit of democracy. For a true democrat like him, the protection of the rights of minorities, which include both religious minorities and those who are historically oppressed and socially marginalized, is a key feature of democracy. Babasaheb was aware of the danger of upper-caste-led communal majoritarianism, masquerading itself as “nationalism,” which, in turn, demonizes the legitimate demands of marginalized groups and their political mobilization as “communal” assertion. The way AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is attacked by the Hindu Right every day makes Ambedkar’s words prophetic.

Two years later, Ambedkar wrote a small pamphlet, which was nevertheless a powerful document called States and Minorities, where he exposed the myth of communal majoritarianism, legitimizing itself in the form of nationalism and democracy. Look at his perceptive words, “Unfortunately for the minorities in India, Indian Nationalism has developed a new doctrine which may be called the Divine Right of the Majority to rule the minorities according to the wishes of the majority. Any claim for the sharing of power by the minority is called communalism while the monopolizing of the whole power by the majority is called Nationalism.”

If we keep in mind the insightful words of Ambedkar, we can easily see through the discomfort and anxieties of the Hindu Right and their cadre-writers with coalition politics. Contrary to the democratic spirit, the Hindu Right believes and acts on the doctrine of ‘might is right’. Similarly, they are allergic to the idea of sharing power with Bahujans such as Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, and religious minorities. They are not ready to accept the fact that the basic difference between authoritarian rule and democracy is the question of power. For example, an authoritarian rule is non-democratic because it, unlike democracy, refuses to share power with marginalized groups.

To put it differently, an authoritarian ruler decides everything on his own. He is unwilling to listen to criticism and dissent. Under his regime, there is an absence of multiple sources of power, and the system of checks and balances has collapsed. The due procedures and the rule of law are not in place. The mechanism of dialogue and consensus has been uprooted. The freedom of the press, the independence of the judiciary, and the proportional and effective representation of minorities are anathema to the ears of the authoritarian ruler. Such tendencies could also find a leader, sweeping through the elections in majoritarian waves.

Contrary to this, a democratic system is not only the name of elections, although free and fair polls are very important. Nor is the sign of democracy merely the formation of the government and the celebration of the high growth of the economy. A true democracy, in fact, is one where the rights and interests of weaker sections and the marginalized are protected. For example, in a caste-based society like ours, the leaders from a particular section cannot be entrusted to safeguard the interests of all. Even if good policies and laws are in place, unless the people from the marginalized sections are placed in a position to implement them, these “good” laws themselves may not be effective in ensuring their rights.

Thus, participation and decentralization are the buzzwords in a democratic setup. Where the formation of the government is based on multi-party systems, authoritarian tendencies are kept in check. In electoral systems where many parties are in competition, it is likely that the political parties will offer more welfare schemes to the voters.

Unfortunately, the previous decades of Indian politics, particularly in the Centre, have been dominated by one party and one leader. This has led to the decline of consensus-building, an important feature of democracy. The previous Modi-led governments at the Centre have violated the true spirit of federalism. The last two tenures of the Modi Government were far more aggressive than the previous regimes in trampling the genuine concerns of marginalized groups and regions. Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi, expressing her disappointment that the government of West Bengal was not included by the Union Government while discussing the water dispute with Bangladesh. Even if it is conceded that the Union Government was able to protect the interests of India, it is still undemocratic to exclude the regional government from the talks.

From the present era to the conflicts in the past, it is evident that the failure to share power with minorities and make decisions based on dialogue and consensus created a human tragedy of untold magnitude. From the Punjab crisis to the problems in the northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, and the southern states, the heart of the problem lies in the failure of the top leaders to share power with other stakeholders. That is why the mourning over coalition politics is uncalled for and undemocratic as well.

Before I conclude, let me appeal to the critics of coalition politics to look at the functioning of the new tenure of the Modi Government. They should not miss the positive changes. The failure of the BJP to get a majority, coupled with the significant gains made by the opposition parties, has somewhat democratized the functioning of the government. After a gap of ten years, we have in Parliament the Leader of the Opposition, questioning the failure of the government. While the law says that the numerically largest party in the Opposition should be invited to give the Leader of the Opposition to the House, an excuse that the opposition party should have at least 10 percent of the total strength of the House was used to deny the Lok Sabha of having the Leader of the Opposition.

It should not be a matter of concern but a source of joy that in Parliament, the voices of the opposition leaders are now loud. Similarly, the allied partners of the BJP, who were nowhere in the photo frame, are now seen sitting close to Modi. These changes are all due to the return of coalition politics. However, it is not being argued that all is well. But it also cannot be overlooked that the scenes from post-June 4, 2024, onwards are far more beautiful than those from 2014 to 2024.

(Dr Abhay Kumar is an independent journalist. He is interested in social justice and minority rights. Email: debatingissues@gmail.com)

The post Why coalition politics is good for democracy appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra in 2024, the people gave a remarkable 30 of the 48 seats to the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA-INDIA), an increase of 25 seats compared to 2019; voters gave only 17 seats to the NDA, a drop of 24 seats. An independent Congress rebel has won, and he has officially returned to the Congress, making the MVA total 31 out of 48 seats. Three Union Ministers of the BJP were defeated, along with 20 sitting MPs from the BJP-NDA.

The number of seats won and the votes secured by each party in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is telling: MVA-INDIA – Congress – 13/17 seats (16.9 %), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) – 9/21 seats (16.7 %), NCP (Sharad Pawar) – 8/10 seats (10.3 %). NDA – BJP – 9/28 seats (26.1 %), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) – 7/15 seats (13 %), NCP (Ajit Pawar) – 1/4 seats (3.6 %), Rashtriya Samaj Party – 0/1 seat (0.8 %).

While these are certainly welcome developments, the voting percentage of the two fronts is far too close for comfort. For MVA-INDIA the percentage of voter support stands at 44 %, and for a while for the NDA it is 43.6 %.

In sharp contrast, the 2019 Lok Sabha election result for 48 seats was as follows: NDA – 41 seats (51.34 % votes), BJP – 23 seats (27.84 % votes), SS – 18 seats (23.5 % votes), UPA – 5 seats (32.01 % votes), NCP – 4 seats (15.66 % votes), INC – 1 seat (16.41 % votes), AIMIM (Aurangabad) – 1 seat (0.73 % votes), Independent (Amravati, later pro-BJP) – 1 seat (total of all independents and other smaller parties 3.72 % votes), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA – Prakash Ambedkar) – 0 seats (6.92 % votes), Total – 48 seats (100 % votes).

The MVA fought the 2024 election with its back to the wall. Under pressure of the Modi regime, the Election Commission of India (ECI) gave both the name of the party and its symbol to the rebel SS and NCP factions led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar respectively. The original parties led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar were forced to take new election symbols. Money and media power were obviously largely controlled by the BJP. But the MVA fought back unitedly with grit and determination, and the people supported it.

The Maharashtra Lok Sabha results are even more significant because the state faces its Vidhan Sabha elections within just three more months, in October 2024.

A preliminary analysis of the Maharashtra Lok Sabha election results will reveal the following seven main reasons for the NDA setback and the MVA victory.

Corrupt and immoral Acts by BJP

First, the people were sick of the BJP and its corrupt and immoral acts in the state in the last two years, which resulted in the splits in the SS, and then in the NCP, and then again nibbling at some of the Congress leaders. Over 80 MLAs out of the 100-odd MLAs of the SS and the NCP together were induced to support the BJP by using a combination of threats and blandishments. It was through such dirty conspiracies that the discredited Shinde-Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar state government was brought into existence. The corrupt and unprincipled splintering of the SS and NCP led to a big sympathy wave for their original leaders and parties.

In such a situation, the veteran NCP leader of many battles Sharad Pawar, SS leader Uddhav Thackeray, and INC leader Nana Patole, spearheaded the resistance of the people against this political chicanery, and strengthened the unity of the MVA, which was further buttressed by the formation of the INDIA bloc at the national level. In the 2019 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections also, Sharad Pawar had played a salutary role of fighting against the BJP.

The most high-profile Lok Sabha election contest in Maharashtra this time was between Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, and Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar. Supriya Sule won by over 1.5 lakh votes. MVA leaders addressed scores of huge public meetings in their election campaign. In several constituencies, it became like an election of the people against the BJP.

Economic distress and struggles against this   

The second factor was clearly economic distress. The growing crisis in unemployment, inflation, agrarian distress, education, health, food security, and other sectors, and also the growing struggles on these issues in the state over the last few years, played a major part in ensuring the alienation of the people from the BJP-NDA.

In the agrarian sector, the falling prices of onions, cotton, soya bean, sugarcane, and milk, became a major issue. So also were the recurring droughts, unseasonal rains, and hailstorms, for which no relief was forthcoming. The anger of the scheme workers and other unorganised sections was palpable. On all these issues, there were sustained independent struggles and strikes by peasant and worker organisations in Maharashtra. As a result, the issue of economic distress had repercussions in all the regions of the state. As against the election campaign by Modi, Shah, Yogi, Nadda, Fadnavis, and other BJP leaders who only tried to create and intensify communal polarisation, the MVA-INDIA election campaign concentrated on these burning issues of the people.

Caste and reservations

The third factor was that of caste, and reservations. This was a direct result of the agrarian crisis and burgeoning unemployment. In the Marathwada region, where the Maratha quota stir was the most intense, the BJP could not win even a single of the eight MP seats in the region. In other regions also this issue hit the BJP. Another significant feature of this election was the massive support of Muslims and other minorities to the MVA-INDIA bloc. This support also extended to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) group, because of it being a part of the MVA along with the Congress and the NCP, and also because Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister and later, had taken a balanced stand, which was the exact opposite of his father.

Spoilers checkmated

The fourth factor was the people themselves partly isolating the traditional spoilers like the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Prakash Ambedkar, and the AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaissi. Although the VBA put up its candidates in around 35 Lok Sabha seats, unlike in 2019, it could not fully achieve its desired aim of helping the BJP win. In the Akola Lok Sabha seat in Vidarbha, which Prakash Ambedkar himself contested, he came third behind the BJP and the Congress. In three other seats also, viz. Buldhana, Hatkanangale, and Mumbai North West, the votes polled by the VBA were more than the victory margins of the BJP-NDA candidates. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the VBA had helped the BJP-NDA to win in 11 seats.

Attack on Maharashtrian identity and pride   

The fifth factor was the attack on Maharashtrian identity and pride. In the past few years, a large number of industries and projects which had been earmarked for Maharashtra were arbitrarily shifted to Gujarat by the Modi regime. This was a source of great heartburn, because it adversely affected employment and development. On top of that, in his election speeches in Maharashtra, Modi insulted MVA leaders by calling Sharad Pawar a “bhatakti aatma” (wandering soul). He also called Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena a “nakli” (fake) Sena. All this was naturally seen by the people as insulting Maharashtrian identity and pride. This issue had big repercussions throughout the state.

Stiff competition to ‘Godi Media’ 

The sixth factor was that, even so far as the media is concerned, this time several popular independent media outlets and YouTube channels were seen by lakhs of people, giving a stiff competition to the corporate Godi media, and exposing its increasing loss of credibility. Also, several social organisations came together and hit the streets by organising their own public meetings and other imaginative programmes under different banners, like the ‘Nirbhay Bano Andolan’, ‘Nirdhar Maharashtracha (Determination of Maharashtra)’, and so on. With the encouraging poll results in the country and the state, this trend is sure to intensify in future.

Defence of democracy, secularism, and constitution    

And the seventh and last factor was, of course, the paramount issue in this whole election throughout the country – the defence of democracy, secularism, and the Constitution. The ‘400 paar’ slogan of the BJP was rightly interpreted by large sections of the people as showing its malignant intention to change and destroy the Constitution, and attack the rights given therein to the economically exploited and the socially oppressed. This became a major issue for Dalits, because Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is regarded as one of the prime architects of the Constitution of India. But it was not an issue only for Dalits. It influenced large sections of the patriotic people in the state and the country. And the MVA-INDIA election campaign rightly concentrated on this issue. This concerted campaign had the desired impact.

Role of the Left

So far as the CPI(M) and the Left were concerned, the MVA did not leave any seat for them in the seat sharing, in spite of their concerted efforts. In the two seats of Dindori (ST) in Nashik district and Palghar (ST) in Palghar district, the CPI(M) has a mass base of around one lakh votes each. It also has a reasonable presence in some other seats. But the Party avoided fighting these seats outside the MVA, since it would have divided the secular vote and helped the BJP to win. CPI(M) activists all over Maharashtra did good and sustained work to ensure the victory of several MVA candidates. This was warmly acknowledged by the top leadership of the MVA itself. It is expected that the CPI(M) and the Left will contest some seats as part of the MVA in the coming state assembly elections.

After this salutary victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the MVA-INDIA bloc will have to be even more vigilant, and redouble its efforts and its inclusivity to throw the BJP-NDA out of power in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra which will take place in October 2024.

(The author is Member, CPI (M) Polit Bureau and National President, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia. 

Related:

M’tra: A blow to BJP-NDA, a shot in the arm for MVA-INDIA

The post Lok Sabha polls 2024, M’tra: Blow to BJP-NDA, boost for MVA-INDIA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

You have been one of the most accomplished political strategists the country has seen, especially after the tornado-like sweep of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, which redefined India’s political trajectory.

I was among the few who actually publicly endorsed your entry into the Congress party as a bold breakthrough proposition, even when I was suspended by the party myself. But I must point out, regretfully, that of late, your utterances have been rather cosmetic, and often, bordering on mendacity. I woke up this morning to your BBC News interview, and to be honest, was stunned into disbelief. Either you have got your basic facts completely wrong, or you are blatantly misleading the people of India.

1. India’s Muslim population is 14% but according to you it is 18%. Wow! Considering your entire political career started off as a psephologist, that gargantuan 4% difference that you glossed over is professional sacrilege. Psephologists are rated on their exactitude. You fail the test. There is no margin of error when you are indulging in a serious conversation post a historic election that has reduced an authoritarian government to its knees.
2. Your attempt to diminish Congress party’s impressive 23% aggregate vote-share in the 2024 elections has again got a luminous distortion. Again, it is elementary, Mr Watson. The rise in Congress vote-share by nearly 3-4% is staggering, because it fought in only 328 seats compared to 464 in 2014 where it got 19.4% vote-share. Why did you not tell that to BBC News? Why would you make such a brazen omission?
3. Your statement that Congress has a “free vote-bank of 20% minorities votes” is so preposterous that it could qualify for the Oscars in Exaggerated Falsehoods. Muslims vote for regional parties too in bulk; the perfect case being UP and Bihar, among others. The Sikhs vote for different political parties including the BJP. Several Christians have voted for the BJP in Goa, Kerala and the North East. And the bulk of Jains probably vote for the BJP alone. Bottom-line: You lied. But why? Why did you not elaborate on the reasons why minorities are apprehensive and frightened of the hate-mongering and divisive politics of the BJP?
4. FYI, Congress won 57 of its 99 seats from six states with low Muslim populations – Karnataka, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. PK, you forgot to do your homework.

Now, the truth that the people of India must know, the real reason why you are so unambiguously hostile to the Congress is because you saw yourself as a saviour of the Grand Old Party once it would have been annihilated in the 2024 general elections – something Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others too thought was a fait accompli. You tried that in your famous “TMC-Goa model” in the assembly elections of 2022 which flopped miserably. Your attempt to rebrand TMC as a national alternative to the INC was instantly abandoned. Mamata Banerjee was an unsuspecting victim of your Machiavellian game to destroy Congress for the pursuit of your personal ambitions. It was expected that a demoralised Congress would crumble, and you would arrive as a knight in shining armour.

There are two things you need to reflect on, Prashant:

1. Why did BJP lose the parliamentary seat of Ayodhya?
2. Why did Congress win both the seats in Manipur?

I hereby give you an open challenge to debate with me on national television on the above and more. And by the way, this will hurt, but I predicted 240 seats maximum for the BJP on several occasions, while you were sarcastically asking Indians to keep a glass of water ready for the June 4 results with the saffron party at 303+.

I messaged Karan Thapar after your public meltdown on his show (similar to another media-created political superhero) that you had indeed told me yourself over a phone call that Congress would be decimated in Himachal Pradesh. But then, you can always deny that. But what you cannot deny is that a celebrated emissary of your team (an intellectual titan and former parliamentarian) wanted me to join TMC with a host of attractive inducements thrown in. I listened to the proposition as any gentleman should, and politely refused. And yet, I was in London when a press release was unethically circulated that I had attended a meeting with the West Bengal CM in attendance.

Cheers!

Sanjay Jha is a former national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress party. He also worked as a banker and an internet entrepreneur.

The post An Open Letter to Prashant Kishor, Who Has Misled Indians appeared first on SabrangIndia.

So, I do have a June 4 story that began in 1989 when Rajiv Gandhi lost the election, which I covered as a cub reporter at 21. “Covered” is presumptuous. I was more or less zipping around Trivandrum on a two-wheeler gifted by a friend, reporting “untoward incidents” for Venad Pathrika, the afternoon newspaper I was working for then. Again, it was an election that would turn fateful for the country that sent me to Calcutta.

After the journalism course at the Times School in Daryaganj, I had been shortlisted for The Economic Times in Bangalore but I was reluctant, having contracted typhoid from the southern city during a two-month internship with The Times of India and generally unable to find anything of interest there. The only open slot then was Jaipur Times of India, an edition that faced the somewhat unique and unfortunate threat of “cannibalism”. The Times of India Delhi edition, probably the best newspaper in the country then with a powerhouse of talented journalists, would reach Jaipur by around 10am or before that, and many readers in Jaipur would prefer to wait rather than take the Jaipur edition, which meant the biggest competitor of The Times of India in Jaipur was The Times of India from New Delhi! But that was not a factor for me.

I had been schooled that journalists should pursue journalism, not what circulation managers do. I was willing to go to Jaipur (anything to escape Bangalore) when my classmate who was earmarked for Calcutta Economic Times landed a position in a US university. Calcutta badly wanted a trainee because of the elections of May 1991. Delhi asked for volunteers and my hand went up, possibly because I had never been to Calcutta and our classmate Mohuya’s mother used to tell us such endearing stories about the city while feeding us luchies when we deliberately landed up at her home at Vivek Vihar just before dinner. That’s how I reached Calcutta, lost my way and ended up in Harish Mukherjee Street, instead of the nearby Hazra Road, and found Maharashtra Bhavan instead of Maharashtra Niwas. Which suited me best because I could not have afforded the better Niwas.

One or two days later, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Needless to say, I was devastated and I was scared I would descend to depression with no one to talk to. I think only the collegiate atmosphere at the Calcutta Economic Times saved me. I was also asked if I was “LTTE” once or twice because the term had acquired currency after the assassination and I used to roam around central Calcutta in a lungi after work. The questions were good-natured, meant to impress me with the familiarity of geopolitical coinages. I took it in my stride as ribbing, which it was.

I sometimes wonder which was the toughest election I had been associated with in terms of newspapering. I think my friend and former colleague Harshita will choose the 2004 election when The Telegraph headlined it Power of Finger and illustrated the page with an oversized but real-life inked finger.

My choice will be the Bengal Assembly election of 2001. Both pages had a common link: the genius of Deepayan Chatterjee, our deputy editor. What new thing can you say when the Left Front keeps winning election after election? When I was at my wits’ end, I used to literally “look up” to the six-plus-foot Deepayan. He is almost always kind but when his brain was whirring and you intruded with your rabbit-caught-in-the-headline-look, he would glare at me. Then, always, always, without fail, he would lean forward, take a headline sheet, scrawl something carelessly as if it is the grocery list and pass it on to me. I was speechless, as I often was when Deepayan’s creative gears started shifting, especially when World Cup Soccer finals were over at some unholy hour on some far corner of the earth and we had only a few minutes to release the page.

In 2001, I was speechless because leaping at me from the headline sheet was what I consider the best election headline I had seen in my career. The headline: 1977, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001…

The ellipsis was the coup de grace. A hint that the chain will continue, which was not very difficult to predict. Little did we know then that within a decade the Red Fort would crumble?

Personally, the hardest election for me was the 2021 Assembly election. Almost everyone, except our bureau chief Devadeep Purohit, predicted that Modi will make mincemeat of Mamata. I was especially proud of my colleagues because of the exceptional work they produced. We cut down on traditional reportage and focused on what Bengal stands to lose if the zealots came to power.

Our senior journalist Chandrima Bhattacharya wrote on short notice, again the story spotted and amplified by Devadeep, what turned out to be the best report of the election. Chandrima wrote on how Modi called Mamata “Didi O Didi” — an extremely difficult copy to write unless you are personally wounded and affected. The Telegraph gave maximum coverage to the blockbuster song, Nijeder Mawte Nijeder Gaan. I remember that the result day in 2021 was May 2. May 1 was a no-print day and we were working from home.

On April 30, while leaving the newsroom well past 2am, a colleague asked me: “Will we see you again here?” The unstated suggestion was that the BJP would not spare me if the party came to power in Bengal. The BJP did not come to power in 2021. As it turned out, September 29, 2023, was my last day in the newsroom or virtual newsroom as we were working from home. Not many in the desk got to ask me if that was my last day.

Since October 2023, I have travelled widely in Kerala and some parts of India and realised that I have friends I had never met before or even heard of before. I also realised that I am a bad speaker but some people, for some reason, like to inflict on themselves bad speakers like me. Especially students. I even campaigned for a candidate (who lost). But I had no idea what I would do on June 4, the result day. Around mid-May, my friend and Media One channel editor Pramod Raman asked me if I would like to be at their studio for three days till the result day. I reluctantly agreed.

When the exit polls were flashed, I wondered whether I should still go. I was in two minds. Until I received a message from a Muslim friend I had met during one of my travels in Malabar: “Are the exit polls true? I am very afraid.” The message gutted me. I did not know what to say. Eventually, I told him to keep the faith. Then I thought I should go to the studio. On June 3, I was welcomed to the studio with the warmth and the hospitality Malabar is known for. But I could sense the tension in the production rooms. So thick that you could cut it with a knife. The cliché is true. I felt it first-hand. No one told me they were tense and if so, why they were tense. They needn’t have told me. I was standing on Ground Zero of media oppression in India. Media One, run by a Muslim management but which has several journalists and other employees from other faiths too, had been abruptly banned by the Centre, triggering a long and expensive legal battle that the channel won emphatically.

The Supreme Court judgment in the Media One case should be part of the curriculum in all journalism schools. Also, the way Pramod and his team navigated the crisis. Unlike some of the “powerful” media houses, they did not cave in.)

On June 4, I reached the studio around 1.30pm. By then, there was a sea change. It was becoming increasingly clear that the BJP would not get a majority on its own. Ajims, Nishad and Pramod (the untiring journalists who were broadcasting from 5am) were on air. Someone asked me to wait in the editor’s office. Then someone from the production room saw me and waved me over. I think the desk knows where someone from the desk would like to be. I stood in one corner of the newsroom, reluctant to intrude.

I am glad I did not go to the editor’s room straightaway. The mood at the production room, packed mostly with young journalists, was infectious. Someone shouted: “Smriti trailing badly.” A cheer went up. So did a round of applause. Then they began feeding memes based on popular movie scenes. The great actress KPAC Lalitha’s meltdown in a scene was flashed when Smriti Irani’s plight was shown. “I need a headline,” another voice. PT Nasar, a veteran journalist I respect a lot, piped in: “Smritinaasam (The destruction of Smriti, and here a reference to the recollection of Smriti Irani’s tenure as minister and the Amethi conquest of 2019).” The response: “Yay.” I was in shock. It happens when you have an adrenaline rush after a long time. “Am I back in my newsroom?” I asked myself. “Tharoor has closed the gap. He is leading now.” Another cheer, another round of claps. Until a few minutes earlier, Shashi Tharoor was trailing. “Tharoor widening the gap. I need a headline.” “Turbo Tharoor.” Turbo is a full-on Mammootty action flick now running in Kerala movie halls. Unable to sleep, I had seen the movie less than 24 hours earlier on June 3 night. Another meme is on screen.

It is a scene from Bhramayugam, a Mammootty blockbuster in which the character played by the great actor keeps captive a man who seeks shelter in his manor. “You can’t go. I won’t allow you to go,” the most famous voice in Kerala is telling the captive. On the split screen, the image of a loser (I think it was Rajeev Chandrasekhar but I am not sure) appears. The suggestion: Mammootty’s character is telling the losing candidate that he cannot go to Parliament. Then Sabir asked me: “Would you like to come upstairs from where the figures are being updated?” I went up.

What a scene it was! It was one of the most breath-taking sights I have ever seen. The top deck — from where the figures are being fed to the on-screen charts — overlooks the studio floor from where the live telecast is going on. On the floor, the dashing Nishad is on fire. It is the principal duty of Nishad and Ajims to ensure that the coverage does not flag. Both were soft-spoken when I met them the day before.

But in front of the camera, they were tigers on the hunt. Behind me was the electric hubbub of the desk, unable to suppress the excitement as it became clear that Modi will fall short of majority. Ahead and down below on the brightly lit floor, Nishad, Ajims and Pramod were kicking their coverage into high gear and memes were flying thick and fast. That is the magnificent image that will stay with me forever. Later, Pramod and Nasar Sir took me to a nearby shop to have tea. On the way, an almost apologetic Pramod asked me: “Don’t take it otherwise. May I ask you what your headline would have been tomorrow had you run the newsroom? I wanted to ask you live on TV but I did not.”

I am glad Pramod, always reasonable and who insists on hearing the other side before passing judgement, did not ask me that question on air. Because I would not have had an answer. I told Pramod that I need a newsroom to think up a headline. I usually go blank and the reaction around me — even while working from home for months, I used to communicate constantly with as many colleagues as possible, especially Harshita — helped me to pick a headline.

When I told Harshita about this, she also asked me to think about what I would have done. I politely declined to answer. I don’t want to return to that space and place. But I am sure my headline would not have been on Modi (a headline on Modi would definitely have titillated social media but I would have kept it for an inside page). My headline most probably would have been on the people, especially the people of Uttar Pradesh. Just a simple “Thank U”, perhaps? Who knows? “U” opens up a lot of possibilities to work on as subsidiary visual ideas, besides Uttar Pradesh: Uttam Pradesh, U-tubers, Uniters, Unbreakables, U-turners….

Or, a tweak of Lincoln to say THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATION? Or, if I focused on Modi, would I have shrunk the entire Page 1 by 56 per cent in recognition of the deflation of the Big Chest? I don’t know. Now you know why I am too reckless for newsrooms.

That night, I messaged my friend in Malabar who was alarmed by the exit polls: “Sleep well tonight. We are safe.”

The dark clouds have only parted. They still hang heavy over us. Even now, anything can happen. Still, the night of June 4 was one of relief. We needed to breathe. We did. Late that night, I received a message from a friend in Uttar Pradesh. It read: “My kids asked me the reason for my happiness today. I told them that you will realise the value of this day many years later, then you will thank me and countless others who fought against tyranny.” I replied: “Well said, Saheb. And I will tell my grandchildren that I knew you.”

I don’t know if my account makes a story, especially against the backdrop of the sacrifices made by many, including Umar Khalid who is still in jail; the whiplash journalism pursued by Ravish Kumar and Ajit Anjum and several others; the selfless crusade of Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Roop Rekha Verma and many, many volunteers; the sharp political instincts of Yogendra Yadav and Parakala Prabhakar; and the hope kept alive by Dhruv Rathee. But I do hope my account answers my friends’ questions.

This is my June 4 story.

N.E. Sudheer, the foremost bibliophile I know and a no-nonsense commentator, writes in TrueCopyThink. (Of course, you may say little has changed with Modi and he retains his destructive powers but there is one priceless change. We are no longer afraid, especially no longer afraid to hope and to dream)

HOPE

A pluralistic Opposition, steered by a redoubtable civil society, will certainly preserve “India”. The democracy of Nehru will have sparkling evolutionary progressions

DREAM

All that I am visualising now is Modi falling prey to opportunistic politics and leaving Parliament one day after losing a confidence motion. The sengol must also accompany him. This is the dream of an ordinary citizen who takes pride in the idea of India. Had the popular verdict been otherwise, we would have been afraid even to dream.

(The author is a senior journalist; this is from his social media post)

Related:

The handover at Rae Bareli

The post My June 4 Story: The Day Results to the 2024 Elections came in appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The poll results have decidedly cleared the miasma of the Modi myth and magic.That some people have asked for his resignation is understandable. For he had been campaigning for months to the neglect of his minimum official duties,and practically in his own own name as an agent of God.It did not gel.Even his own seat  has been retained with a much reduced majority.The latest blunder had been the clumsy attempt to foment anti-Muslim phobia now that the clamour about ‘Vikash’ has met a blank wall of ennui.

The opposition has fought well,though one wished bickerings among members had died down much earlier.For the dismal results of Delhi may well be a fall-out of the ill-tempered barbs of Kejriwal and counters from Congress until practically the last minute.

One notices with pleasant surprise Rahul Gandhi’s patient and open-minded negotiations with various regional leaders for alliance and his skill in patching up rifts in it.The earlier obstinate and unrealistic demand for pre-eminence has given way to a seasoned acceptance of modest fellowship.During the press conference after the results the importance given to alliance and partnership in response to probing and teasing questions from the press revealed the same maturity.Incidentally this maturity was seen in his cameraderie with Akhilesh Yadav,which saw to a stunning collapse in BJP’s hitherto impregnable walls in UP.

Rahul declared in the press conference that the striking performance of the INDIA alliance stemmed from its stout defence of India’s constitution.The common people responded to the calamities of high prices of everything that makes life sustainable and the scorching unemployment.But in a way they had certainly voted for the Constitution,for it is the Constitution that compels the rulers to enable people to live a life of dignity,free from nagging want and demeaning poverty.The cash transfers under welfare schemes are welcome in conditions of severe drought of money,but a life of dependence as a beneficiary surely lacks dignity.Dictatorship and despotism in conditions like those in our country usually follow from a will to suppress such dignity.

The INDIA alliance too has any number of ‘beneficiary schemes’.But while that is necessary as palliative,it hardly meets the basic problem of neo-liberal economy.The latter allows business tycoons to store essential vegetables and staples of daily meals for unlimited periods in expectation of higher prices while their prices soar in open market.Or huge chunks of them may be exported while people starve as these become unaffordable at home.While one cannot think of just snapping out of it recklessly,there has got to be neasures to moderate its heat.

Rahul Gandhi quipped that the Adani-Modi nexus is proved by the rise and fall of the stock market with changing fortunes of Modi regime.Actually it is not Adani shares alone,but ALL shares that mimic the ascent and  decline of the Modi government’s fortunes.For it is basically a government tied up with big business houses.That is neoliberal state in a nutshell.It is geared to the monopolists relentless,maniacal and heartless pursuit of profit to the peril of life and livelihood of the common people, the culture of co-operation and human fellow-feeling as well as the natural environment of all life.

Modi’s speech accepting the results from Vajpeyee Bhavan bore the same characteristics of his histrionics and rhetoric.But the verve was lacking,the long-drawn periods forced and mechanical.He congratulated the people for upholding democracy.

It is ironic if a little frightening that one with patent dictatorial pretensions should proclaim such devotion to democracy.Whatever he means by it.But it IS a vast relief to find that the people have shaken off their stupor to reclaim their ownership of the government,something the preamble to our Constitution so compellingly articulate.

There are many people who think that the alarm about EVMs had been false and groundless. But with the ECI so oddly acting like an agency of the government in power and itself formed in such conditions of dubiousness, there was no guarantee that when everything else of value had been traduced they would not have tried to hack its programming.It was only the vigilance of the people including civil rights activists,IT experts,former bureaucrats,responsible lawyers and former judges,that appears to have deterred miscreants from mischief.

The courts have had their fair share of blame and public censure when they fell far short of expectations in this critical phase of our history.But to be really fair one has to concede that the SC at this crucial juncture acted several times to indirectly inject vigour into the flagging campaign for democracy,as when it swatted the blatant rigging of election of Chandigarh’s mayor,when it blew the whistle on the Electoral Bonds scam,or when it cut down to size Baba Ramdev,whose brazen impunity had left most people incredulous but helpless.

Yes, all of us have tried and done our bit for our beloved country and out cherished Constitution.The next steps must also be taken with a mixture of courage and circumspection.

Hiren Gohain is a political commentator

Courtesy: CounterView

The post What A Relief! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Nagaland and Meghalaya have a considerable proportion of Christians, Christians form the majority in Nagaland and Meghalaya with 88 % and 75% respectively. Manipur too has a sizable population at 41 %.

June 4, 2024,Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out these states and said, “Leaders of a particular religion actively campaigned against the BJP and NDA in Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya. This religion has a good following in these states, which made a difference on the results.” The Congress has won Nagaland’s only Lok Sabha seat. The two constituencies in Meghalaya were won by the Voice of the People Party and the Congress.

Interestingly, Sarma also pointed out NDA’s successful performance in Assam, highlighting how this took place in Assam with ‘40 % Muslims’!  “I am happy that with 40 per cent Muslim votes, I could give 11 seats to the party.” The NDA alliance won 11 out of the 14 seats in the state. Just last October Sarma had boasted of 12/14 seats to the BJP’s tally in Parliament!

Himanta Biswa Sarma has a notorious track for making hateful statements about religious minorities, from Christians to Muslims. Sabrang India has been tracking his communally charged speeches for the past several years. In October 2023, the Election Commission also had issued a show cause notice against him in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections for making communal speech in Chhattisgarh while campaigning for the party. Sarma had taken a very communally charged dig at the Congress leader and state minister Mohammed Akbar in Kawardha, saying “When one Akbar arrives in a particular location, he brings along a hundred Akbars. Therefore, it’s crucial to remove him swiftly, or else the sanctity of Mata Kaushalya’s land will be compromised.”

These remarks has gotten  him a lot of backlash, with the Congress filing a complaint at the ECI for his comments. The poll panel, in its notice to Sarma has reminded him of the specific provision in the poll code, especially the point that says, “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”

In December 2023, the controversial BJP leader also posted on X, glorifying the Kshatriya caste, which he said is “heroic” and is known for its warrior-ruling status. In the same post, he also disrespected the Shudra caste, which is categorised as a lower caste and is  made of the toiling and artisan sections of society. Sarma stated that the duty of the Shudra is to ‘serve’ Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.

Sarma was also recently in the news for reportedly using tax payers’ money, over 58 crores,  to make several trips on private flights and helicopters, some of them were even to attend fellow BJP leaders’ childrens’ marriages.

Related:

Assam: Post by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma casteist, promotes oppression?

EC issues show-cause notice to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for “communal” speech

FIR against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for hate speech

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma excludes “encroachers” from Mission Bashundhara 2.0

The post Himanta Biswa Sarma in latest hate speech blames people of ‘specific religion’ for BJP loss in Nagaland, Meghalaya appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Apart from “Samvidhan Bachao”, a key plank developed by Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) this time round, was manifest in the party’s efforts to expand beyond its Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) base through the PDA — Pichde (backward classes or OBCs), Dalits, Alpasankhyak (minorities) — strategy and slogan. Awadesh Yadav was key to this expansion and is expected to play a strategic role in future.

The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, consecrated by Modi in January, marked the completion of one of the Sangh Parivar’s ideological goals though the event was dominant much more by a Modi than the Sangh. Timed for months before the general elections in a rather brazen mixing of religion with polls, this plank had been expected to boost the BJP’s poll prospects. The Indian people surprised poll pundits again as the party took a big hit in Uttar Pradesh, with its tally almost halved, one of its most prominent losses was in the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency of which Ayodhya is a part.

This Samajwadi Party leader, an old associate of the wily Mulayam Singh Yadav who snatched the prestigious seat from the BJP is the old warhorse MLA Awadhesh Prasad who was the only candidate from a Dalit community to win from a non-reserved constituency. Prasad rode to a much hailed poll victory defeating the BJP’s two-time sitting MP Lallu Singh by 54,567 votes, riding on Dalit, Minority and Backward votes that earlier used to go to the Congress in Faizabad.

The 77-year-old nine-time MLA and now first-time MP, who is from the Pasi community, is among the founder members of the SP and has been by founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s side starting in 1974. Awadhesh Prasad, several times elected from MLA from the Milkipur assembly, secured a sensational victory by a significant margin of votes

Awadhesh Prasad’s political journey began in 1977 when he won his first assembly election from the Sohawal assembly seat in Ayodhya district. Thereafter, he won assembly polls in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2007, and 2012.

With this victory, the memories of 1989 polls revived as when –in the midst of the frenzy generated by LK Advani’s rath yatra, Mitrasen Yadav of CPI won the elections amidst the temple movement.

Who is Awadesh Prasad?

A law graduate from the Lucknow University, Prasad entered active politics early, at the age of 21. He joined the Bharatiya Kranti Dal led by former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, whom he considers his “political father”, and contested his first Assembly election from Sohawal in Ayodhya district in 1974.

During the 18 month long Emergency, Prasad served as the Faizabad district co-convener of the anti-Emergency Sangharsh Samiti and was arrested. While in jail, his mother passed away and he failed to get parole to attend her last rites. After the Emergency, he quit law to become a full-time politician. In 1981,

Awadesh Yadav joins the SP

It was after the Janata Party splintered that Awadhesh Prasad stayed with Mulayam as he launched the SP in 1992. Prasad was appointed the party’s national secretary and member of its central parliamentary board. Later, he was promoted to the position of SP national general secretary, a post in which he is serving his fourth term.

Though this parliamentary election is the first time he has won, he unsuccessfully contested once before in 1996 from the Akbarpur Lok Sabha constituency — this seat used to exist in the erstwhile Faizabad district and is not the same as the current Akbarpur parliamentary seat in Kanpur Dehat. Prasad, however, had more luck in the Assembly elections and to date lost only twice in nine contests — in 1991, when he was the Janata Party candidate from Sohawal and in 2017, when he fought as an SP nominee from Milkipur.

The post In the seat of Lord Ram, real life issues win the day in 2024 LS polls, Awadesh Prasad wins by 54, 567 votes appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Indian Muslim community has its highest ever representation in the Lok Sabha at 49 MPs, in 1980. Although Muslim voters are seen as a decisive factor in each election season, representation for the community, even in States where it forms a sizeable percentage of the population, remains low.

The Indian National Congress, SP, and TMC, key political parties of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have given fewer seats to Muslim candidates this election. In 2024, the Congress nominated Muslims in only 19 seats when compared with 34 in 2019 whereas the TMC fielded six Muslim candidates when compared with 13 in 2019 and the Samajwadi Party had only four Muslim candidates, half the number it had in 2019.

Both the INC, TMC and SP are known to secure a sizeable number of Muslim votes.

Political analyst Rashid Kidwai feels that a truncated mandate for the BJP notwithstanding, Muslim candidates were unlikely to be nominated in higher numbers. “I don’t see this changing anytime soon,” he said. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded 35 Muslim candidates in 2024, the highest among all parties, albeit almost half of the 61 it fielded in 2014. Opposition parties have, however, branded this an attempt to divide the community’s votes in constituencies where it matters in order to benefit the BJP, a narrative which is recurrent in many constituencies across the country that have a sizeable number of Muslim voters. The Hindu – reported

Muslim Candidates elected From Uttar Pradesh:

Iqra Hasan Choudhary, SP Candidate (Kairana)

SP’s 28 years old Iqra Hasan Choudhary, law graduate from London defeated the BJP candidate Pradeep Kumar with 69116 votes from Kairana Parliamentary Constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Iqra secured 528013. Iqra abled to secure this seat with cohesion between Jats and Muslims in Kairana. Jats, a powerful agrarian community, hold an impactful population in this Parliamentary Constituency. Iqra’s campaign was however very personalized and strategic.

Imran Masood, INC Candidate (Saharanpur)

Congress candidate Imran Masood won this seat with securing 5,47,967 votes and defeated BJP candidate Raghav Lakhanpal with +64,542 votes. Masood called himself a “descendant of Lord Rama by faith” during the campaign. The powerful Thakurs/Rajput’s of Saharanpur held a Mahapanchayat in Deoband before Lok Sabha Election and decided to vote in a non-BJP Candidate. This impacted the traditional majority votes of BJP and became a significant factor behind Masood’s victory.

Afzal Ansari, SP Candidate (Ghazipur, UP)

Afzal Ansari, for the second time secured his victory from Gazipur Constituency in UP and defeated his rival BJP Candidate Paras Nath Rai. Ansari got 5,39,912 votes and won with massive victory margin of more than 1 Lakh 24 thousand votes. Afzal is the brother of SP’s former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who died in April, 2024. The death of Mukhtar also created an anger among the supporters of Mukhtar and created a narrative among Muslim voters about the repression faced in a BJP-ruled State towards Muslims.

Ghazipur’s parliamentary reach encompasses five assembly constituencies namely; Ghazipur Sadar, Jangipur, Zamania, and Jakhanian.

Mohibbullah, SP Candidate (Rampur, UP)

Samajwadi Party’s candidate Mohibbullah secured his victory by margin of 87,4334 votes and defeated his rival candidate BJP’s Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi who got 39,4069 votes. Mohibbullah got overall 48,1503 votes and registered his victory. SP fielded Mohibbullah in Rampur, a Muslim majoritarian seat where SP secured his victory.

Zia Ur Rahman, SP Candidate (Sambhal, UP)

SP candidate Zia Ur Rahman won the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat with a massive margin of 12,1494 votes while overall securing 57,1161 votes and defeated his rival BJP candidate Parmeshwar Lal Saini who got 44,9667 votes.

From West Bengal:

Yusuf Pathan, AITC Candidate (Baharampur, West Bengal)

TMC Candidate former cricketer Yusuf Pathan have won from Baharampur Constituency in West Bengal and secured 5,24,516 votes and defeated his rival Congress State President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Yusuf Pathan secured 37.9% votes. Adhir blamed the BJP’s polarisation for his defeat.

Isha Khan Chaudhari, INC Candidate (Maldaha Dakshin, West Bengal)

From Maldha Dakshin Constituency, Indian National Congress Candidate Isha Khan Choudhary secured his victory with accruing 41.8% vote share. Khan got 5,72,395 votes and defeated his rival BJP candidate Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhary who got 4,72,395 votes.

Maldaha Dakshin (South) is among the few constituencies in the country where the minority population is in majority.

Khalil Ur Rahaman, AITC Candidate (Jangipur, West Bengal)

All India Trinamool Congress Candidate Khalilur Rahman secured his victory from Jangipur Lok Sabha Seat with a victory margin of 1,16,637 votes and secured overall 5,44,427 votes and defeated his rival Congress candidate Murtoja Hossain Bokul, who got 4,27,790 votes. TMC holds a major favor from Muslim Majority Lok Sabha seat for a period of time, even Khali Ur Rahaman since 2019 representing Jangipur in the Parliament.

Abu Taher Khan, AITC Candidate (Murshidabad, West Bengal)

In Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat Trinamool candidate Abu Taher registered his win with victorious margin of 1,64,214 votes and secured total 6,82,442 votes and defeated his opposite CPI (Marxist) candidate MD Salim who secured 5,18,227 votes. Murshidabad is also among few Muslim Majoritarian Lok Sabha Seats.

Sajda Ahmed, AITC Candidate (Uluberia, West Bengal)

With a massive victory margin of more than 2 lakh 80 thousand votes, Trinamool’s Candidate Sajda Ahmed secured her second consecutive victory with overall 7,24,622 votes and defeated rival BJP candidate Arunuday Paul Chowdhury, who got 5,05,949 votes and losses his election from Sajda. She is wife of late MP Sultan Ahmed.

In 2019 Lok Sabha election, Sajda defeated BJP’s Joy Banerjee and representing Uluberia Lok Sabha Seat since 2019.

SK Nurul Islam, AITC Candidate (Basirhat, West Bengal)

From Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, Trinamool’s SK Nurul Islam secured a significant victory with margin of more than 3 lakh votes i.e. 3,33,547 and got overall 8,03,762 votes and defeated his rival candidate BJP’s Rekha Patra who got 4,70,215 votes.

The Basirhat constituency was in the news lately due to the Sandeshkhali violence. BJP made Rekha Patra, one of the alleged victims of Sandeshkhali, its candidate from Basirhat. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Election, TMC candidate Nusrat Jahan won the seat by 3,50,369 votes, with the party receiving 54% of vote share while BJP secured 30.31% of vote share.

From Kerala:

E.T. Mohammed Basheer, IUML Candidate (Malappuram, Kerala)

Indian Union Muslim League candidate E.T. Mohammed Basheer secured this seat with a massive record victory with margin of 3,00118 votes and got overall 6,44,006 votes while defeating his rival CPI (Marxist) candidate V. Vaseef who got 3,43,888 votes and losses his election.

After Rahul Gandhi, the IUML victors in Malappuram and Ponnani claimed the second and their largest margins in the State.

Shafi Parambil, INC Candidate (Vadakara, Kerala)

Indian National Congress’s Shafi Parambil defeated his rival CPI (M) candidate KK Shailaja Teacher with a winning margin of 1,14,506 votes and got overall 5,57,528 votes. CPI candidate Shailaja got 4,43,022 votes and losses her election.

Shafi will soon resign from his state assembly membership, as he is representing Palakkad constituency from Kerala,

Dr. M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, IUML Candidate (Ponnani, Kerala)

Ponnani Lok Sabha Seat claimed by IMUL as third highest victory margin seat in the state. Dr. Samadani won this seat with a massive victory margin of 2,35,760 votes and secured overall 5,62,516 votes while defeating CPI (M) candidate K.S. Hamza who got 3,26,756 votes.

Ponnani is one of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala and is reserved for the SC category. It comprises seven assembly constituencies which are Tirurangadi, Tanur, Tirur, Kottakkal, Thavanur, Ponnani, and Thrithala. The constituency went to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26 and the voter turnout was recorded at 69.37%.

Jammu Kashmir:

Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, JKNC Candidate (Srinagar)

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference’s Candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehndi has won from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat with winning margin of 1,88,416 and got total 3,56,866 votes (52.8%) and defeated his rival PDP candidate Waheed Ur Rehman Para who got 1,68,450 (24.9%) votes and losses his election.

Agha Ruhullah Mehdi said, “A big thank you to the people of Srinagar, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Shopian and Budgam for this mandate and faith in me. I am humbled and I am aware of the responsibility that this mandate brings with it. You have spoken democratically and spoken against the decisions of August 5, 2019.”

Mian Altaf Ahmad, JKNC Candidate (Anantnag-Rajouri)

National Conference leader Mian Altaf Ahmed won from Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat while securing 5,21,836 votes and defeated his rival candidate former Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti with a heavy margin of 2,81,794 votes. Mehbooba got 2,40,042 votes even not the half of the Mian Altaf’s total votes.

Abdul Rashid Shiekh (Jailed) Independent Candidate (Baramulla)

In Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency jailed candidate Abdul Rashid Shiekh contested Independent and defeated National Conference leader former chief minister of J&K Omar Abdullah with a heavy victory margin of more than 2 lakh votes. Rashid got 4,72,481 votes whereas Omar got only 2,68,339 votes.

Assam:

Rakibul Hussain, INC Candidate (Dhubri)

Indian National Congress Candidate Rakibul Hussain won his election with a very heavy margin victory securing 1471885 votes and defeated his rival candidate AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal who got 4,59,409 votes.

Hussain defeated Ajmal with a winning margin of 10,12,676 votes. This is a significant victory as the votes secured by Ajmal were less than half of the winning margin votes secured by Rakibul Hassain.

Bihar:

Mohammad Jawed, INC Candidate (Kishanganj)

In this Muslim majority Lok Sabha, Congress candidate Mohammad Jawed defeated the Janata Dal (United) “JDU” candidate Mujahid Alam by margin of 59,992 votes. Jawed secured overall 4,02,850 votes whereas, JDU candidate got 3,43,158 votes and was defeated by the Congress candidate.

Telangana:

Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM Candidate (Hyderabad)

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who has been representing the Hyderabad Lok Sabha Constituency in Parliament since 2004,  registered his fifth consecutive win from Hyderabad Constituency. Owaisi’s winning margin of 338,087 votes exceeds his rival BJP Candidate Madhavi Latha’s votes. Madhavi Latha in election tried to polarize of both Hindu and Muslim votes but defeated by AIMIN President. Owaisi secured total 66,1981 votes whereas Latha got only 32,3894 votes even lesser than Owaisi’s winning margin.

The AIMIM president won the election by a massive margin of 338,087 votes, which was more than his previous record.

Ladakh:

Mohmad Haneefa, Independent Candidate (Ladakh)

Haneefa an Independent candidate from Ladakh won the Lok Sabha election securing 65,269 votes and defeated his rival Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal who got only 37,397 votes. Haneefa secured his victory by a margin of 27,862 votes. There is only one Parliamentary Constituency in Ladakh.

Tamil Nadu:

Navaskani K, IUML Candidate (Ramanathapuram)

Indian Union Muslim League’s Candidate Navaskani K won from Ramanathapuram Constituency by securing 50,96,64 votes and defeated his rival independent candidate Panneerselvam with more than 1.6 Lakh margin of votes. This constituency has a Hindu Majority population and Navaskani’s victory under these circumstances points towards a less polarized polity in the state.

Lakshadweep:

Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed, INC Candidate (Lakshadweep)

In the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha seat Congress candidate Hamdullah secured his victory and defeated his rival Nationalist Congress Party candidate Mohammed Faizal PP with a narrow margin of 2647 votes. Hamdullah secured a total 25,726 votes whereas Mohammed Faizal got 23,079 votes.

There is only 1 Lok Sabha seat in Lakshadweep UT that INC has secured.

Conclusion:

From among the winning Muslim candidates elected in 2024 Lok Sabha, a majority contested from the tickets of Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party, All India Trinamool Congress, key members of India alliance.

JKUL, IUML, AIMIM had also fielded its Muslim candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and secured six Lok Sabha seats in J&K, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, whereas TMC got five Muslim MPs elected, the INC got six, the SP got four Muslim MPs now with a seat in the 19^th Lok Sabha.

However, while Bahujan Samaj Party, highest fielded 35 Muslim candidates, none secured a victory with the community preferring the winning INDIA Alliance. Ignoring the fact that her Jatav (Dalit) base had also shifted significantly to the INC-SP combine, BSP Chief Mayawati was quick to single out the Muslim community for withdrawal of support. Muslims constitute 20 percent of the population of UP and Dalits around 21 percent of the population.

Last time round, Kunwar Danish Ali on BSP ticket in 2019 had been elected from the Amroha Lok Sabha Constituency. Few months later, Kunwar Danish Ali joined Indian National Congress. In 2024 Lok Sabha election congress fielded Danish from Amroha but failed to secure his seat and lost the election to the BJP candidate Kunwar Singh Tanwar.

Related:

Does the Muslim vote count? 

Amethi: Locals claim police beat up Muslims at polling booths

Three Banes of India’s Muslims: Victimhood Syndrome, Power Theology, Obsession with Identity Politics

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