Power of Voters in India & USA Does Matter! | Nilofar Suhrawardy

The strange but ironical similarity in votes cast in United States’ Presidential Elections and prior to that in India for the Parliament stands out interestingly. The stunning impact of electoral results in both the countries is the nature of common citizens’ votes. While in USA, critics are stunned by votes gained by Republican candidate Donald Trump, in India, the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return to power with a majority has shocked his supporters. While Modi heads the Indian government again, he is doing so with support of his allies. In USA, Democratic Party headed by President Joe Biden has failed to return to power for the second term. Now, the question is, where have Biden and Modi erred? And how has this as well as any other reason helped their rivals perform better in both countries? In USA, while rival has succeeded in defeating Biden, success in India has been marked by there being a stronger opposition and as mentioned failure of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to secure a majority in the Parliament. It heads a coalition government at present.

The results in both countries may have been different if the voters did not probably choose to exercise their decision- based on their power as well as right to vote- on their own judgment. This refers to their choosing to determine what they perceived of that which had been delivered to them by both leaders- Biden in USA and Modi in India- while holding reins of power. Had the voters been satisfied by performance of the two, their electoral power would not have- whether totally and/or partly- chosen to reject them. While Biden has been rejected totally, Modi has been partly. To a degree, acceptance of Biden’s limitations along with that of his age, may be viewed as responsible for his having backtracked from the Presidential race at virtually the last and Kamala Harris have been selected to fight the same. But the fact is that Democratic Party’s candidate was apparently primarily judged by voters on basis of how they viewed this party’s stay in power. In other words, this refers to the party’s performance from their perspective and not from that of how the power-holders apparently judged the same. The same may be said about electoral approach displayed by Indian voters at the time of parliamentary elections.

In India, the routine electoral language exercised by Indian power holders was visible during their respective political campaigns, ahead of parliamentary elections. Some went overboard in using “religious” rhetoric to touch on and appeal to what is viewed as the one that can easily sway the voters- that is have a definite political impact on them by exciting their religious passions. If voters had been moved by such factors, in all probability BJP would have returned to power with a majority and at present would have headed the government on its own strength. It may be recalled, ahead of polls, BJP leaders had made noise about their returning to power with more than 400 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. This rhetoric was apparently based on their belief in the “strength” of their electoral campaigns. In other words, they took the appeal of many of their electoral cards, including religious, for granted. In contrast, a considerable section of voters chose not to be swayed by the same.

Democratic Party’s failure to return to power in USA, interestingly, according to many observations, rests on more or less similar reasons- that is refusal of key percentage of voters to be taken for granted by this party’s rhetoric on various issues. But this is one side of the story in both the countries. What perhaps also bears strong relevance is the limited importance given to issues which concerned the voters. This included their economic problems, concern about Palestinian issue, employment and so forth. During their respective terms in power, the voters apparently were concerned about limited importance given by the leaders to genuinely address these problems. This was marked by continuance, even worsening, of problems concerning voters. Of course, the difference in nature as well as intensity affecting voters’ political approach in both countries cannot be side-lined. As for instance, while Palestinian-issue appears to have influenced population of Arab-Americans as well as students in USA, the same cannot be said about India. What bears importance is the apparent failure of leaders to understand the political language of common voters in both countries.

What is equally relevant is probably the nature of electoral campaign engaged in by rivals in USA as well as India. If this refers to Republican candidate, now President-elect, Donald Trump in USA, in India, the emphasis is on electoral campaign of several opposition parties as one bloc, including that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. It is possible, their campaign- including Rahul’s walk across the country, helped them reach out to common citizens as well as speak in their language – referring to voters’ pending problems. Here it may be noted, this is also suggestive of voters in both countries remaining apparently aggrieved at their elected leaders’ failure to pay needed attention to their grievances. This also is a stark indicator of a few basic “democratic” realities, which cannot be ignored even by most powerful for too long. During the present era of communication boom, the question of common voters being convinced by rhetoric of those already having been given a chance to redress their grievances may be viewed as non-existent. They’d prefer giving others a chance. Of course, in India, the return of previous party to power cannot be ignored but that it has without as many parliamentary seats and votes as it received in preceding two elections cannot be side-lined.

These developments only suggest that political weight carried by electoral power of common citizens, whether it is in India or USA, can from no angle be ignored even by those viewed as most powerful leaders in the world. They have the electoral strength to push the latter out of power. Their prowess may be viewed as more powerful than what riches can purchase, strength of judicial hammers and so forth. Ignorance of their socio-political and economic voice may be viewed as equivalent to leaders digging their own political graves and/or at least heading towards losing their own political strength in the coming days. It is not without reason that Biden is being criticized endlessly for Democratic Party losing its strength in the Presidential Elections. Or that common Indian voters have become strongly aware of religious rhetoric of their leaders. The majority have chosen not to be fooled by the same. They want their voice to be heard. They don’t want to be taken for granted along these lines. If Modi-wave has lost the electoral appeal that it seemed to have earlier, the explanation is not far too seek. Voters have chosen to give more importance to political rivals appearing to give greater importance to them. Now, it is to be watched, whether democratic strength of citizens’ votes is given greater importance in the coming days in India as well as in USA or not. Hopefully, it is!

(Author:Nilofar Suhrawardy is a senior journalist and writer with specialization in communication studies and nuclear diplomacy. She has come out with several books. These include:— Modi’s Victory, A Lesson for the Congress…? (2019); Arab Spring, Not Just a Mirage! (2019), Image and Substance, Modi’s First Year in Office (2015) and Ayodhya Without the Communal Stamp, In the Name of Indian Secularism (2006))