Politics in India has undergone an astonishing transformation, almost impossible to imagine a decade ago. The catalyst for this change is undoubtedly Narendra Modi, whose decade-long tenure was seen more as a ruthless scheme to take control of the country than ordinary political rule.
Who would have thought that Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena leader who has presented himself as the sole protector of Hindu interests, would viciously attack the BJP for misusing religion to divide society and subvert constitutional culture? Tejashwi Yadav, whose Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has been defined by reactionary governance symbolizing the ‘jungle raj’, is constantly trying to force the Prime Minister to discuss jobs and prices instead of escaping the real concerns of the masses. Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, who is often criticized for running Goonda Raj in Uttar Pradesh, has condemned the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for undermining the rights and respect guaranteed by the Constitution to the weaker sections of society.
Illustration: Pariblah Chakraborty
This apparent shift has become the hallmark of these parliamentary elections, as government parties accused of pursuing a narrow political agenda and losing sight of national priorities have taken on the responsibility of protecting the idea of India. There is no doubt that it was the authoritarian behavior of the Modi regime that prompted all these regional powers to realize the vitality of constitutionalism, create unity of purpose and shape the electoral battle in a way that is very different from routine party competition. The matter is not limited to the attack on federalism; The BJP’s aggressive attack on regional parties to expand its dominance also played a crucial role in changing their perspective. While these parties abandoned their anti-Congress stance, the Shiv Sena committed an ideological coup to place itself in the anti-BJP camp.
This is perhaps the first time that political discourse in the hinterland has so closely resembled that of the major cities. Domestic civic issues have been drowned out by larger concerns about the fate of India’s democracy. Even identity politics seems to have taken a back seat. Akhilesh Yadav or Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray or MK Stalin, all opposition leaders speak the same language in small towns or villages that the main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi speaks in big cities. Like Rahul, Akhilesh holds a copy of the Constitution in his hand and implores voters passionately, “Samvidhan is our lifeline; This gives us rights and respect. We are fighting for the interest of PDA (Pichhda-Dalit-Alpsankhyak). They (BJP) make fun of our families but theirs (Sangh Parivar) are the most dangerous. They want to destroy the Constitution. They want to take away the reservation you get from the Constitution.” Akhilesh also talks about paper leaks, Agniveer scheme and Chinese interference, and asks people if there has been any improvement in their lives in the last 10 years.
In his public meetings, Tejashwi insists that the elections are about Modi, not Modi. Focusing his attention on the issue of unemployment, he tells voters: “I have given five lakh jobs in 17 months and Modi has given nothing but lies and broken promises. Nitish Kumar himself was saying that there were no resources to create jobs when he was with the BJP. Three thousand more jobs when you were deputy prime minister. Why don’t they book appointments? Modi indulges in meaningless rhetoric saying he will send everyone to jail, and they will snatch away your mangalsutra. There are certain things that are impossible but may happen, like the rising of the sun from the setting. Fishing in the desert, planting trees in the sky, but this impossible can never become possible – Modi talks about jobs, love, compassion and harmony.”
DMK leader MK Stalin also took aim at Modi’s divisive policies, saying: “The Prime Minister’s toxic rhetoric is despicable and extremely deplorable. Fearing public anger against his failures, Modi has tried to incite religious sentiments and has resorted to hate speech to avoid what appears to be imminent defeat. Hate And discrimination are Modi’s real guarantees. By turning a deaf ear to the Prime Minister’s blatant hate speech, the Indian Election Commission has shamelessly abandoned even a semblance of neutrality. The socio-economic caste census promised by the India bloc is a long-awaited remedy for creating a society based on… Equality. It is sad that the Prime Minister is misrepresenting the matter and depriving socially disadvantaged communities of their rightful share of education, jobs and seats of power. India bloc leaders must be wary of the BJP’s deceitful misinformation tactics. We must strengthen our commitment to exposing Modi’s miserable failures ».
Uddhav Thackeray also highlights the crisis of democracy in all his meetings. Arguing that a coalition government is always better than an authoritarian government, he portrays Modi as anti-Maharashtrian. On the issue of the ruling family, he said: “Modi has no problem with ruling families running sex rackets, but those who fight for democracy are unacceptable.” The effectiveness of the coalition’s work on the ground is reflected in Thackeray’s public pledge to implement the Congress’ Nyay Patra (manifesto) after coming to power. Veteran Sharad Pawar also dwells on the threat to democracy, recalling how many BJP leaders have talked about changing the constitution. Pawar repeatedly warns people against India becoming like Vladimir Putin’s Russia and asks them to vote out the Modi government before it is too late.
Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress have made attacks on democracy and misuse of central agencies their main election theme. Modi, who started seeing the fingerprints of the Muslim League in the Congress manifesto and progressed to visualizing the kidnapping of gold and the mangalsutra, is now into supernatural fantasies, telling voters about “Devotional spirit (The Wandering Soul)” amidst stray references to Aurangzeb and Ram temple.