- Not for nothing any election undertaken in India is monikered a Dance of Democracy for the amount of interest, excitement, thrills, frills, and unexpected twists generated during the polls are extraordinarily unimaginable. I am sure the majority of Indian citizens are keen followers of the fortunes of political parties both at the regional as well as national levels. Yes, we are aware that two of the biggest national parties in the country are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Grand Old Party, Congress. Interspersed and settled admirably are several key regional parties that command tremendous traction and heft among the electorates. Some of the regional parties have also essayed the role of kingmakers when the national parties fail to garner a majority.
PC: PTI
- Of course, the coalition government experiments in the country have largely failed to provide stable governance owing to parties pulling in different directions and parochial considerations. The prepoll and post-poll alliances have a huge difference in themselves but attempts at oneupmanship usually come to the fore leading to collapses before the completion of tenure. The Karnataka assembly poll date is already announced and the same will be watched with lots of curiosity across the country. Mind you, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will go to the polls this year before the mother of all elections, the Lok Sabha polls will be happening in 2024. Thus, every election from now on will be keenly watched.
- Usually, any election in a democratic setup should be fought on developments, growths, and performances alone. Unfortunately, what is on display in India is an election usually fought on communal/secular lines, over caste equations, quotas/reservations, religious and polarized viewpoints, and mudslinging/personal attacks. Intelligent voters would definitely call the bluff of the political parties by mirroring how an aspirational society expects their elected representatives to perform. Rather than show and lead the way by offering job opportunities and employment generation, political parties sticking to inane caste considerations will have very limited sway among the voters. The narration has to change inevitably sooner than later. Hopefully, it will.
PC: Vartha Bharati
- In Karnataka, the BJP will be sorely banking on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impress upon the electorate to vote back again. However, allegations of rampant corruption and far from satisfactory developments around the state would be hard to combat even for Modi. Mind you, state elections are always fought on different factors than the national election. And then there is an anti-incumbency factor too at play. Congress has a better opportunity to garner a majority provided it succeeds in presenting a united front. This is unlikely. JD(S) can play spoilsport to both the national parties by denying a clear majority. We have seen such a scenario occur before. Yes, the answer to all these lingering questions will be known on 13th May 2023.
