Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, June 8, 2024

Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, June 8, 2024

Pollsters, media and propagandists were all wrong on the possible outcome of India’s 2024 General election. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not get a parliamentary majority alone but has the required numbers to form a government via a new version of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition. Mr Modi lost much ground and won his seat in Varanasi by a reduced margin. Twenty of his top ministers lost their elections. All this is a big personal blow for Narendra Modi the star campaigner for his party. Over the past 10 years much power has become concentrated under Mr Modi and he is used to unilateral and secretive decision-making, one wonders whether his coalition allies will be able to put some breaks on his old ways. The outstanding electoral performance by the opposition INDIA alliance despite huge odds, the financial and organisational might of the BJP and its media clout is truly commendable. The combined strength of the Parliamentary opposition INDIA alliance is 235 seats compared to 240 seats of Mr Modi’s BJP. The numerical rise of the opposition in Parliament gives it considerable voice and strength vis a vis the ruling coalition. After two successive terms of the BJP-led Governments at the centre and several states, the opposition parties were down and out but have sprung back, lifting the gloom that had set in on the public & political sphere in India. The achievement of the opposition provides a huge encouragement to civil and political activists who have been under enormous pressure from the Modi Government. The Congress party, the largest opposition party, has performed very well, doubling the number of its seats in the parliament. The Congress party made significant inroads in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and UP but did badly in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There is much hope that a re-invigorated opposition in India will provide countervailing power to the unfettered dominance of the BJP. All eyes must get set on the six state assembly elections (Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi and Bihar and in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir) that are due to be held between June 2024 and November 2025. The dirty tricks department of BJP won’t sit idle so the opposition India bloc must not lower their guard, should have a coordinated floor strategy in Parliament and plan for the coming elections.

June 7, 2024 —HK