Election Commission
There was a talk about the election commission being biased. This gained further traction with the appointment of two election commissioners at short notice and also the resignation of one of them later. The supreme court had suggested that these posts ought to be filled by a committee comprising of the prime minister, leader of the opposition and the chief justice of India. But the government did not heed to this and formed the committee with the prime minister, home minister and leader of the largest party in opposition ie., the Congress. There were also accusations of bias on the part of the ECI in having a seven-phase election spread over a month and a half. The accusations stated this was done with intent to favour the ruling BJP and in particular Modi who was its star campaigner so that he could move around the country for campaigning. The results have proved the accusers wrong. The election commission has come up as a winner.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
EVMs have been the favourite whipping boy for candidates and parties which lose elections. There would be accusations of EVMs being manipulated. This time however the opposition parties have no cause to complain as the verdict of the elections have given them positive results. India moved into the use of electronic machines for elections many years ago, while a whole lot of countries, including developed nations, are still in the paper age. EVM’s are a clear winner.
Judiciary
Supreme court struck down the electoral bond scheme and insisted on disclosure of purchasers of bonds as well as the recipients. This is supposed to have been a negative for the ruling party. Coming as it did, just on the eve of the elections, it displayed clearly the independence of the judiciary. Again, the temporary bail afforded to Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister, who had been arrested in connection with the liquor scandal, was another instance. The SC perhaps stretched itself, but clearly showed its independent mind.
Kashmir’s Record Turnout
The record turnout in Jammu and Kashmir showed the world that things are normal in Kashmir. Earlier elections were often held under the shadow of terror. This also vindicated the actions of the government in taking steps to integrate the region with the rest of the country and its firm handling of terror. Kashmir has emerged a winner
Stock Market
The stock markets are an indicator of investor confidence in the stability and state of the country and its economy. There were some steep falls during the course of the elections when there was a feeling that a stable government may not be formed. However, once it became apparent that there would be a stable government and a government whose thrust would be on growth of the economy, the markets started booming and have scaled new heights. The markets have shown themselves to be a winner.
Continuity of Policies of development
In the last few years, the emphasis has been on development in various fields. Make in India, foreign policy, a great thrust on infrastructure development, strong armed forces, programmes to support various disadvantaged sections, increased and innovative use of digitalisation and so on being some of the highlights. With the same formation coming back to power at the centre, continuity of various policies is expected to be there and thereby, these are also winners.
The country’s image
There had been a lot of negative news spread by media both within and outside the country. Some indices portrayed India in poor light with regard to freedom of speech. These have been proved wrong. The image of the country would definitely have grown in stature- definitely a winner.
Democracy
The results were unexpected. Voters braved the heat and dust to excerce their right to vote. Isn’t that what democracy is all about. It is definitely is a clear winner.
The People
There are 97 crore of registered voters. The voting percentage was around 64 per cent, of which women were about 50 per cent. They exercised their right to vote with fervour, shaking everyone and thereby sending out a strong message to all. Clearly the people of the country were winners.
