India is in the early days of its most vicious election campaign. While we may see the opposition and its darbaris, just like when the Pulwama attack took place, speaking in one voice, it won’t be long, we’ll see them resorting to questioning and doubting today’s air strikes.
Saffron UPsurge - Maturing of a Democracy
The latest election results have also established that a good majority of Indians perceive Modi to be a man they can trust, a man who can bring about development, a man who can bring in change, a man who can transform their lives for the better.
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The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within. – Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
All the main fault lines of Indian politics along the axes of caste, creed, region and religion come to the fore during elections. The media is saturated with heavy terms such as identity politics, social engineering, polarisation, tactical voting and so on. The shrill campaign by the mainstream media makes us believe that these fault lines are an acceptable barometer for electoral success. And in all honesty, this may have well been the case till recent past. While success in elections till now was indeed rooted in a coalition around caste and religion, Modi’s credibility among voters has dominated and changed this narrative.
In normal course, going by the traditional voting patterns based on social identity, approximately one third of the votes in Uttar Pradesh are stacked against the Bharatiya Janata Party even before elections are called. Yet in 2014 and once again on Saturday (11 March 2017), the BJP pulled off spectacular victories. The fact that this happened with a government in it’s mid-term, when one normally sees a simmering sense of disappointment towards governments, establishes that this could not have been possible without breaking the confines of social identity. This suggests a tectonic shift underway in voters’ preferences, a shift towards healthy development, a shift towards a stronger democracy. The conventional barometers to study elections seem to have outlived their utilities. Modi’s policy preference of empowerment over appeasement seems to be resonating with the electorate. Modi-baiters, essentially comprising of those believing in fossilised left ideology, those adoring dynasty politics and the aadarshi liberal intelligentsia need to ponder over their own professional integrity.
BJP’s wins since 2014 may well be partly a consequence of the charisma around Modi, but charisma doesn’t exist in isolation. The phenomenal success can be attributed to Prime Minister’s pursued efforts of good governance and his larger strategy of economic empowerment seeking to bring those at the bottom of the pyramid into formal economy. This has been scripted through various schemes ranging from rural employment schemes such as MNREGA to financial inclusion programmes like the Jan Dhan Yojana, MUDRA finance to electrification and housing for all. Each of his initiatives is a baby step for the otherwise economically disenfranchised poor.
The latest election results have also established that a good majority of Indians refuse to see Modi as a mere Hindutva leader who whips up raw communal passions to get votes. Instead, they perceive Modi to be a man they can trust, a man who can bring about development, a man who can bring in change, a man who can transform their lives for the better. Modi’s victories since 2014 confirms that India is seeing a new phase of politics that rises above the old and traditional narrow-minded agenda of caste and religious loyalties. India today is voting for the promise of empowering and aspirational politics. Aspirations that have nothing to do with religion, caste or any other identity politics. People today want change, a change for development and better future. And Modi is the man they see as a leader who can deliver.
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