General Elections Bharat: ‘A festival of democracy’

Elections

‘A festival of democracy’

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

Just like the two previous general elections in Bharat, 2014 and 2019 respectively, there is a breadth and depth of coverage in several TV channels as well as extensive material being presented 24/7 on social media, along with panel discussions and presentations by any number of political analysts and poll strategists. So, there is no dearth of information – in fact, it’s quite the opposite: an overload which any interested party can choose from. What follows therefore is culled from various sources which are not acknowledged individually except where these are specifically mentioned.

Polling officials carry election materials after disembarking from a boat as they head to a remote polling station ahead of the first phase of India’s general election in the Majuli district, in the northeastern state of Assam

The first thing that commands attention in this much-awaited mega event is the sheer number of the electorate: after all, this is the largest and possibly the oldest democracy that we are dealing with. Be ready for staggering statistics: 970 million eligible voters in the most populous country in the world at 1.4 billion plus people: over a thousand times more than our own tiny population of 1.2 million! (and dwindling). It is also interesting to note that the size of India’s electorate is bigger than the combined population of the 27 European Union member states. It includes 18 million first-time voters, and around 197 million who are in their 20s.

Another noteworthy fact is that the duration of voting has varied down the years from when first elections were held in Bharat in 1951-1952, after it gained independence from British rule, when they took nearly four months to complete. It was just four days in 1980, to climb up again in the last one held in 2019, when voting took 39 days.

The voters will choose 543 lawmakers for the lower house of Parliament – Lok Sabha – from Bharat’s 28 states and eight federal territories, which will vote at different times. Each phase is one day, with the first held on April 19 and the last on June 1. Some states will cast their ballots in a day, elsewhere this may take longer. The largest state, Uttar Pradesh, which is the size of Brazil with 200 million people, will vote on all seven days.

Besides the huge, subcontinental size of the country that includes outlying territories such as the islands of Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshwadeep, it is the astonishing level of logistics that is needed to ensure that every registered voter is able to cast their ballot that commands attention.

Since every vote matters and counts…

It is the Election Commission of India which oversees the vote, and therefore has to make sure that there is a voting booth available within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of every voter. For this reason, ‘election officials have to travel to great lengths to ensure that even a single voter can exercise their franchise,’ according to Chakshu Roy of PRS Legislative Research, an independent think tank.

And thus, some 15 million election officials and security staff will traverse the country’s deserts and mountains — sometimes by boat, foot and even on horseback — to try to reach every voter.

One can – or maybe not! – imagine that this can be especially arduous. How much can be gauged from these two examples in the 2019 elections: a team of polling officers trekked over 480 kilometers (300 miles) for four days just so a single voter in a hamlet in the remote state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, could exercise their right.

In the second example, officials travelled to a village tucked away high up in the Himalayas in 2019 to install a booth at 15,256 feet (4,650 meters), the highest polling station anywhere in the world. Likewise, this time too polling stations will be installed in remote places, including one inside a wildlife sanctuary in southern Kerala state and another in a shipping container in western Gujarat state. The Indian paramilitary force soldiers are also roped in, such as those soldiers who carried their luggage after disembarking from a ferry through the river Brahmaputra ahead of first phase of elections at Nimati Ghat in Jorhat, Assam in the 2019 elections.

Another key reason for the reason behind the multiphase elections in India is about security. This involves mobilizing tens of thousands of federal security forces – those who usually guard borders for instance, who are freed up and deployed alongside state police to prevent violence and transport electoral officials and voting machines.

Unfortunately, there are isolated incidents of violent clashes involving supporters of rival political parties, particularly in the eastern state of West Bengal, that had marred previous elections. But such violence has tapered over the years, thanks to heavy security, and voting has been relatively peaceful. This is the case so far, with the completion of phase 5 yesterday, and the usual culprit West Bengal was true to its communist-Marxist image with violence raising its head!

On the other hand, it is to be noted that a Moral Code of Conduct (MCC) is strictly followed and implemented by the Election Commission, which sanctions candidates according to the severity of the breach of the code. The sanctions include debarring them from campaigning as the voting date approaches, and again in West Bengal in phase 5 one candidate was sanctioned for making personal remarks considered to be of low taste and deemed derogatory vis-à-vis the Chief Minister who is a woman.

Who’s fighting who?

It is appropriate to use the term ‘fight’ since it is said that politics is war by another means!

There are two main factions in Bharat’s Parliament. The Bharatiya Janata Party is headed by Prime Minister Modi and leads a coalition of more than three dozen parties, known as the National Democratic Alliance.

As in the previous two elections, it faces off against the Indian National Congress party, known as Congress, which has clubbed together with about 24 other political parties to form an opposition bloc known as INDIA (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance).

Whereas the BJP and its partners are solidly behind their leader, this is not so with the INDIA faction where ideological differences and personality clashes have been surfacing, with no candidate for prime minister as yet identified.

The widespread feeling in the country is that Modi is going to win a third mandate in this ‘festival of democracy’ – an expression used by an NRI – Non-Resident Indian from USA who was heading to his locality in Bharat to cast his vote. Like many others, both among the diaspora and the local electorate, he is upbeat about the predicted estimate of another victory for Modi, the BJP, and the NDA.

That there is a joyous mood in the country could be seen during street interviews of a cross-section of voters, in particular with women of all age groups turning out in large numbers despite the searing temperatures currently prevailing. They were clearly enjoying their day out and for them the voting was a celebration for ‘democracy and development.’

In all likelihood, on June 4 they will be proved right…

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 24 May 2024