- The anticipation, excitement, and expectation are palpable in the air as the political churning involving every player, whether major or minor, in more than one way, is underway with a clear eye on the ensuing Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May 2024. The political alignments, regrouping, alliances, and seeking to join hands by framing common minimum programs are already underway. The secular bloc involving the Grand Old Party and 25 other political parties has met twice in the last few weeks. Looks like the bloc has made some headway by coming up with an acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). All political parties opposed to the BJP and its agenda have come under this umbrella before the Parliamentary polls.
PC: Special arrangement
- Of course, the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP too initiated moves to invite political parties supportive of its ideologies and developmental plank recently to pledge unity for the upcoming polls. Make no mistake, the BJP and the Congress are the two main national parties surrounded by regional and other smaller parties that will be shoring up the two grand alliances. Thus, over 50 political parties have banded around BJP and Congress. Indeed, the BJP will continue to dominate NDA, and Congress with its multistate presence will possibly be the fulcrum of INDIA. Remember, the necessity of forming coalitions with a few dozen parties will make their management challenging.
- Nonetheless, it’s also a sign of competitiveness in India’s electoral marketplace. In a tight contest, decided often at the margin by voters without loyalty to a single party, the smallest of parties can punch above their weight. For voters, what do the large coalitions translate into? Very little in terms of concrete policy. Be it economic policy or welfare measures, there’s not much to choose from. The basic template remains the same, the differences are rarely substantive even if the branding differs. The good thing about it is that a competitive electoral marketplace does not lead to policy discontinuities. For instance, two of the most recent transformative developments, GST and Aadhaar, required work across governments.
PC: IANSHINDI
- Following just the political rhetoric would have made their rollout and expansion appear unlikely. This approach also extends to another important area, foreign policy. Needless to mention, the campaigning will center around three main themes viz. leadership, narrative, and identity. LS elections have increasingly become presidential, with the charisma of a coalition’s leaders drawing in votes that are hard to get in assembly elections. Most importantly, India’s diversity comes into play. Even LS elections cannot be immune to local needs as larger electoral coalitions that are embedded in social identities must be woven around regional parties as well. Interesting times are ahead as the election season heats up in the coming days!
