News and Views

Was it her personal tale of ‘torture’ or the presidential style elections? Pragya Singh Thakur benefitted from both.

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Was it her personal tale of ‘torture’ or the presidential style elections? Pragya Singh Thakur benefitted from both.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s spectacular victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was propelled by a near complete sweep in the Hindi heartland. The BJP and its allies won 203 out of 225 seats in Hindi-speaking states, the United Progressive Alliance won just seven seats and the Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats. This was particularly surprising as the party had lost three key Hindi heartland states to the Congress in the Assembly elections just six months ago.

Many have argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity cut across caste and economic backgrounds, at least among Hindu voters. This is largely accurate with a few state-specific exceptions.

However, the Lokniti-CSDS post poll survey reveals that a sizeable chunk of Dalit voters in the Hindi heartland may still have voted for the Opposition even though the BJP’s popularity among Dalit voters did increase significantly.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s spectacular victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was propelled by a near complete sweep in the Hindi heartland. The BJP and its allies won 203 out of 225 seats in Hindi-speaking states, the United Progressive Alliance won just seven seats and the Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats. This was particularly surprising as the party had lost three key Hindi heartland states to the Congress in the Assembly elections just six months ago.

Many have argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity cut across caste and economic backgrounds, at least among Hindu voters. This is largely accurate with a few state-specific exceptions.

However, the Lokniti-CSDS post poll survey reveals that a sizeable chunk of Dalit voters in the Hindi heartland may still have voted for the Opposition even though the BJP’s popularity among Dalit voters did increase significantly.

As a critic of Narendra Modi’s polarising politics, let me begin by heartily congratulating him on his stupendous victory.

The outcome of the election to the 17th Lok Sabha was, first of all, a victory for India’s democracy, as it has always been since the first general elections in 1952. Irrespective of which party wins or loses, it is always the people’s verdict that has triumphed.

Never has a people’s mandate been annulled in India, nor has our country ever seen a bloody transition of power, or capture of power by the generals, as has so often happened in our neighbourhood and beyond. This repeated victory of democracy – despite all the flaws in our democratic system – has contributed immensely to the international community’s admiration for India.

A test of one’s faith in democracy is that, even when your opponents win, you should not only gracefully accept the verdict of ‘Janata Janardhan’ (which is another way of saying, ‘Janata is the Maalik’ of all politicians) but also wish the victors well. It is in this spirit that even Modi’s opponents should commend him on his outstanding victory.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a critic of Narendra Modi’s polarising politics, let me begin by heartily congratulating him on his stupendous victory.

The outcome of the election to the 17th Lok Sabha was, first of all, a victory for India’s democracy, as it has always been since the first general elections in 1952. Irrespective of which party wins or loses, it is always the people’s verdict that has triumphed.

Never has a people’s mandate been annulled in India, nor has our country ever seen a bloody transition of power, or capture of power by the generals, as has so often happened in our neighbourhood and beyond. This repeated victory of democracy – despite all the flaws in our democratic system – has contributed immensely to the international community’s admiration for India.

A test of one’s faith in democracy is that, even when your opponents win, you should not only gracefully accept the verdict of ‘Janata Janardhan’ (which is another way of saying, ‘Janata is the Maalik’ of all politicians) but also wish the victors well. It is in this spirit that even Modi’s opponents should commend him on his outstanding victory.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.

The messages doing the rounds just before the election results were announced on 23 May were on the lines of “What can India expect if…?” “What should we brace for?”

Those who had braced themselves for a BJP-led NDA victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, were well aware of what they needed to brace themselves for. The last few years have offered some indication.

There is the assumption that ‘bracing’ will help. It is unlikely. Bracing helps to break a fall, either in a crash landing or in a somewhat evenly-matched martial contest.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The messages doing the rounds just before the election results were announced on 23 May were on the lines of “What can India expect if…?” “What should we brace for?”

Those who had braced themselves for a BJP-led NDA victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, were well aware of what they needed to brace themselves for. The last few years have offered some indication.

There is the assumption that ‘bracing’ will help. It is unlikely. Bracing helps to break a fall, either in a crash landing or in a somewhat evenly-matched martial contest.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.

The Budgam helicopter crash incident of 27 February 2019 in which we lost precious lives of air force personnel, is in the news again.

There were reports in the media that the chopper came down on account of ‘friendly fire’, and that the Air Force was contemplating trying the officers responsible for the incident, for culpable homicide. I even saw reports and comments on social media that the pension and other benefits of the families of the fallen would be determined as per the conclusions reached in the investigation.

I personally find the above quite odd for a variety of reasons.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Budgam helicopter crash incident of 27 February 2019 in which we lost precious lives of air force personnel, is in the news again.

There were reports in the media that the chopper came down on account of ‘friendly fire’, and that the Air Force was contemplating trying the officers responsible for the incident, for culpable homicide. I even saw reports and comments on social media that the pension and other benefits of the families of the fallen would be determined as per the conclusions reached in the investigation.

I personally find the above quite odd for a variety of reasons.

For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our Podcasts section.