Tushar Gandhi
December 17, 2024
The results of the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections shocked many, me included.
What was stunning was the magnitude of the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA’s) defeat, not so much that it lost. Many factors contributed to it and, contrary to populist belief, it wasn’t electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation. Yes, there is sufficient and legitimate doubt about the role of EVMs but it was the least contributing factor. The election is under a cloud because the electoral process has thoroughly malfunctioned, with the Election Commission (EC) being anything but neutral. It increasingly seems like an extension of the Government than a servant of the Constitution and citizens. This is the main reason for the Mahayuti’s spectacular victory.
Odd behaviour
The EC’s decisions – from the delayed declaration of the election to the allotment of symbols that created confusion among voters and candidates – have been puzzling. I was at a rally where a Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate, while calling upon people to vote for him, mistakenly asked them to choose the bow and arrow symbol, which is now with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) flouted the Supreme Court’s caution when using the clock symbol and got away with it because the EC did nothing. Symbols like the one allotted to the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, a man playing the tutaari, added to the confusion in the minds of voters. This was cleverly exploited by the Mahayuti. Despite repeated protests by the Sharad Pawar faction, the EC did not take corrective action.
The delay in holding the election, which should have been held alongside the Haryana poll, gave the Mahayuti a decisive edge. The immoral and illegitimate Shinde government made use of this time to launch populist schemes – most notably ‘Ladki Bahin’, through which money was transferred to women in the state. The MVA unfortunately could not negate its impact.
The delay in declaring the elections also provided the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), time to address the weaknesses that led to their massive loss of seats in the Lok Sabha election. While the MVA was busy celebrating its victory in the Lok Sabha election, and assuming that the trend would hold for the Assembly election, the BJP and the Sangh reached out to voters at the booth level in the constituencies they lost.
The extra time was also used to ratchet up a hate campaign engineered at places like Kolhapur, Vishalgadh and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (earlier called Aurangabad), all targeting Muslims. The BJP and the Sangh also engineered a divide between Marathas and Other Backward Classes.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi downwards, BJP campaigners launched a vitriolic campaign of hate. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath got away with the ‘Batenge toh katenge’ battlecry, while Modi offered the slightly more refined ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’. Both slogans were divisive.
The RSS had already created anxiety amongst Hindus through its anti-Muslim campaign of ‘vote jihad’. Despite several interim orders against hate speech by the Supreme Court, BJP leaders indulged in rabid oratory and reaped the benefits. The EC allowed them to get away with it.
This EC is a far cry from the one under TN Seshan, which was strictly pro-Constitution. The EC now seems to have little use for transparency and neutrality. It almost treats voters as an unnecessary nuisance. The time has come to replace the EC with a better system controlled by citizens and insulated further from the government. India can’t afford an electoral process that is less than fair.
The courts could do better
I am not impressed by the conduct of the judiciary either. The Supreme Court under the previous Chief Justice procrastinated over ruling on several petitions regarding the manner in which the MVA was toppled in Maharashtra. This allowed a government of defectors to function for two and half years. If timely orders had been passed, they would have had a decisive impact on the election. The highest court of the land under the former Chief Justice, who had a penchant for delivering profound lectures, did not do justice to the court’s responsibility towards the Constitution. The court’s approach hurt the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).
The Shiv Sena (UBT) had to face distrust among voters who suspected that, if they voted for it, its candidates would eventually be lured away by the other side. This was advantage Mahayuti.
The Godi Media, meanwhile, almost turned into a campaigner for the government.
Congress battling itself more than its opponents
Although all the factors I have listed affected the Congress too, its state leadership must shoulder much of the blame. Like elsewhere, factional feuds ruined its chances. The central leadership is unable to solve this problem and national leaders are not above factionalism themselves. As a lifelong well-wisher of the Congress, I must say this loud and clear: the scheming of political clans against their intra-party rivals is a major contributor to the party’s pathetic showing. It may delude itself by harping on electoral fraud and malpractices but there’s no denying it was fatally wounded because of the fights within. Unless it seriously introspects and acts against self-serving ‘leaders’, it will keep meeting the same fate.
After the Lok Sabha election, the state leadership wallowed in self-praise and celebrations right up to the Assembly election. State leaders assumed they had won the election and formed the government even before the voting. They were campaigning for the CM’s post internally more than a victory in the election. This has been the bane of the Congress for too long now.
Unlike in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress failed to connect with the electorate. The Adani issue failed, and the Vachan Nama did not find favour the way the Nyay Patra had during the Lok Sabha election. The MVA, the Congress in particular, performed well in the Lok Sabha election because of the consolidation of the Muslim vote behind it. The party did nothing in return for the Muslim voters who were being targeted by the RSS and its hate brigade. Even the Muslim leadership of the party was disgruntled. There was anger and a sense of betrayal, and rightfully so. Muslims, especially the young voters among them, expected the Congress to act as a shield against the RSS’ hate mongers. The Congress chose not to. The party also failed to reach out to other minority communities, who felt neglected. These communities either dissociated from the election or gravitated towards the BJP.
It is surprising that in Kerala the Congress has a dynamic and vibrant organisation at the grassroots level and a tradition of non-hereditary leadership that has kept it fighting fit but has failed to replicate it elsewhere.
During the Lok Sabha election, civil society groups worked diligently to safeguard our Constitution. They were the major contributors to denying Modi his ‘Chaar Sau Paar’ objective. The Congress and its allies acknowledged this contribution but its leaders in Maharashtra felt threatened by the increasing influence of civil society groups and many leaders successfully sabotaged their effectiveness. The state and national leaderships listened to civil society groups’ suggestions but did not act upon them. It was impossible for the groups to breach the wall thrown up by state leaders and connect with national leaders, especially the Gandhi siblings.
While the Mahayuti rallied behind a common manifesto and the leadership of Modi, Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis, in the MVA it was a game of one-upmanship. The Congress released its Vachan Nama, supposedly the MVA’s manifesto, but its allies – the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – came out with their own manifesto, which led to voters being confused and suspecting the alliance’s credibility.
MVA members also made statements against one another, sulking and squabbling over seats. By the time the final list was announced, there were barely 15 days of campaigning left. Prospective candidates sat at home waiting to receive the nod from their party. The Mahayuti, meanwhile, started the campaign much earlier.
The BJP and the RSS never rest. The MVA will have to prioritise 24×7 preparedness to connect with the people.
***
The most important lesson of the Maharashtra Assembly election is that the time has come for citizens to take ownership of the electoral process. The EC has failed us. Once citizens take charge of the electoral process, from declaration till results, it won’t matter if elections are conducted via EVM or ballot papers.
Also, it’s high time voters had the right to recall elected representatives. This will ensure elected representatives stop behaving like royalty.
India is ripe for a people’s revolution to reclaim the most vital process in a democracy: elections. Only this will keep our democracy vibrant and Constitution safe. This is the big lesson of the Maharashtra Assembly election.
Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, is an activist, author and president of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation. Reach him here: gandhitushar.a@gmail.com.
