- This situation has become synonymous with every election, whether Parliamentary or state assemblies, where the overwhelming thrust is placed on arriving at social engineering on the back of caste designs rather than upholding the only criterion for electing representatives, foregoing development and performance. Unfortunately, the template appears to have gained deep-rooted acceptance in society as every national and regional political party tries to emulate others in cracking the caste code to emerge victorious at the hustings. No wonder, there is any number of permutations and combinations undertaken by the political parties to arrive at a winning formula powering them to assume much-coveted reigns.
PC: Suryagni Roy
- With the Election Commission of India making announcements to the five state assemblies recently, the entire nation’s attention will be largely focused on the eventual outcome of the extremely crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Two of the major political players in the state viz., the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are setting up the largely bipolar contest on the back of varied caste calculations to choose the victor and the vanquished. Intriguingly, two other equally relevant players like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Congress appear to be doing the catching up as compared to the BJP and the SP.
- Interestingly, all parties are aiming at impressing the electorate based on caste parameters rather than overall development to improve the living standards of people. As various parties announce their candidate lists for polls, it is clear that caste is the overriding factor for candidate selection across the board. After the exit of a string of backward caste leaders, BJP has given other backward castes 44 out of 107 tickets in its first list. SP and BSP are upholding the underlying principle of social engineering with emphasis on most backward and other backward castes. Sadly, the idea that the community one was born into determines one’s ability to win the votes of different communities is completely normalized in Indian politics today.
PC: Market Business News
- Unfortunately, ignoring the social and economic toll it is taking on the nation will only keep pushing up this toll painfully. For the people unaware of the situation, the UP assembly sat for only 17 days in 2021, marginally better than 13 days in 2020. Mind you, the pandemic has meant that pre-existing weaknesses in the state’s health infrastructure have put people through newer traumas, but neither this nor the related economic issues invited expanded attention from the legislature. Further, discussion of the performance of even those three-fourths of BJP MLAs who have been retained in the governing party’s first list is sparse.
- Their identity is seen as having greater import than their work. Crucial performance parameters like job generation, business opportunities, education, and law-and-order issues are completely ignored. Such distorted and unyielding embrace is turning India into a strange country with affirmative action for the majority, but more quotas as a poor substitution for more jobs. Mark my words, whoever forms the government will face a major trust deficit from certain castes from day one. And so, this unwarranted situation keeps repeating itself perpetually. Remember the adage, round and round the mulberry bush. Aptly applies to Indian elections.
