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Amid these polarized elections, the role of the Election Commission (EC) has come under scrutiny. Critics pointed to the campaign’s failure to proactively address concerns such as violations, hate speech and voter misinformation. This “business as usual” approach risked undermining institutional credibility in a deeply divided electoral environment. As elections become increasingly controversial, the Election Commission must adopt a more vigilant and proactive role, ensuring fair practices and swiftly addressing violations to maintain democratic integrity.
The 2024 elections underlined the need for both political adaptability and institutional accountability. While the BJP exploited regional and demographic disparities to strengthen its position, the Election Commission’s silence in the face of growing polarization highlights the urgent need to reform electoral monitoring.
Yet, overall, every electoral outcome highlights a clear trend in favor of welfare populism driven by entitlement-centric (not empowerment) targeted-benefits, which delivers electoral gains despite Hindutva-inspired emotional sloganeering and communal rhetoric. Which remains fundamental for BJP. -Political agenda of RSS.
,Deepanshu Mohan Professor of Economics, Dean, IDEAS, Office of Inter-Disciplinary Studies and Director of the Center for New Economics Studies (CNES) of OP Jindal Global University. He is Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, and Fall 2024 Academic Visitor to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. Ankur Singh OP is a research assistant at Jindal Global University’s Center for New Economics Studies and a team member of its Infosphere initiative. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The QuintNeither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
