It’s happening again: the bottomless race by leading political parties to win the elections to the state assemblies due in the next couple of months. For a few weeks now, the star campaigner for the BJP candidates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been addressing election meetings in UP, Uttarakhand…
Elections in UP
In UP, Samajwadi Party President and ex-chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been addressing dozens of meetings. All these draw huge crowds, throwing to winds the caution relating to wearing of masks, social distancing and other precautions suggested repeatedly. Sadly, there is little concern by the masses to protect themselves against the virulent Omicron corona wave that is spreading fast.
While one is aghast over the negligence of the masses, even more shocking is the callousness bordering on irresponsibility on the part of leaders including Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav…
Understandably, the stakes are high. In UP, the largest state, BJP had a spectacular victory in the 2017 assembly elections. There is much to gain in retaining UP. The control of the largest state would also help winning a large number of seats for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Still, there can be agreement on the part of the political leaders to have their campaigns focused through the mass media and door-to-door campaigns avoiding the risk to the masses through public meetings.
The decision of the Congress to suspend campaigning for two weeks is a welcome lead. Hopefully, BJP and SP will follow suit soon.
In the highly divisive Indian polity, sadly, it has not been possible to convene meetings of political parties and arrive at a consensus on such issues. There is also the factor of political one-upmanship.
Past Experience
We had the experience of such irresponsible crowd pulling resorted to by the BJP and the Trinamool Congress early last year on the campaign for state elections for West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. We are seeing this now in UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab…
In the unending system of elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, corporations, municipalities, panchayats… round the year, the Covid pandemic should instill a sense of responsible behaviour in political parties; these should opt for simultaneous elections once in five years for the different bodies, the proposal mooted by Modi.
Of course, it is not easy to conduct elections simultaneously all over the country. This will call for elaborate plannings, materials for the elections, electronic voting machines and, most importantly, manpower. But then India’s progress in technology including IT and management skills, should make her quickly adopt this practice. – SV
