Modi is the victim of seven phase poll

Modi is the victim of seven phase poll

FPJ BureauUpdated: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 01:17 AM IST
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(PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist) |

Finally! General Elections 2019 have been notified. And there are enough dates to floor a romantic teenager. Enough phases to think of a month and more of moons. General Elections 2019 will test patience. By the time results are declared everybody and Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will be on the edge of their seats. It’s a race to beat the June 3 deadline to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.

The Election Commission went through an elaborate and exhaustive preparation process. But it’s odd that the commission did not notice that some of the polling dates fall in the month of Ramzan when Muslims observe fasts and fasting takes a toll on energy. Summer will be right on top and the sun will be shining kind of fierce. It is common lore that Muslims do not vote for the Hindu nationalist BJP and they are in a position to alter verdicts in 200 seats.

Ergo, nobody can fault the Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, if they smell a conspiracy and are crying foul, asking for a change in dates. The Election Commission asked for it. Delhi goes to polls on May 12 and that is a Ramzan day. CEC Sunil Arora must make amends, announce new dates. But will he? If he does, it will be another opportunity for vested party to polarise along communal lines.

That being said, Kashmiri political parties, the National conference and PDP, shouldn’t be grumbling on the “delay” in holding the J&K assembly elections. The security situation in the Valley is definitely not conducive. But polling for the five parliamentary seats cannot be avoided because of the June 3 deadline. Assembly elections can wait till after that. Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti should hold their guns and focus on the Lok Sabha elections.

Even otherwise, enough things will be happening countrywide over the next two months to keep the Election Commission on its toes. The Sabarimala shrine opened again Monday and it will open again during the course of the next 40 to 45 days where Kerala’s political outfits will attempt to raise tempers. Besides, the Ayodhya Mandir-Masjid issue will not go away just because the SC appointed 3-member panel will be mediating a deal. It will raise its head.

At least on one front, though, the Election Commission can take credit. Even if it’s an attempt to cover its back, protect its own – the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), which has been accused of being overly BJP-friendly, to the extent of allegedly declaring victorious BJP candidates allegedly against the flow of votes. Sunday, CEC Arora said VVPAT will be used in all polling stations and it will be possible to match voter verifiable paper trail with EVMs. This may not entirely protect the virtue of the EVM but it will be a kind of chastity belt!

The long-drawn seven-phase polling has its merits and demerits. It helps in deployment of adequate security forces, especially the central security forces, in sensitive constituencies and in election-theatres where poll-related violence is considered inevitable.

Like West Bengal and Kerala, Bihar and Jharkhand. Jammu & Kashmir. The fewer number of constituencies going to poll on a particular polling day will aid in ensuring free and fair polls. Every little leeway should be welcomed. A successful accomplishment of the ‘Biggest Show on Earth’ will resound worldwide and will be a shot in the arm for democracy.

The global community will be watching and even if a lot of muck is raised, enough to topple 10 Titanic stacked one atop another, it’s worth the effort. Coming at a time when India and Pakistan are eyeball-to-eyeball and Pakistan trying to interfere in India’s election process, General Election 2019 becomes all the more important to conclude smoothly. The difference between democracy in India and the sham one in Pakistan should be there for the world to see.

Last, these elections are an inflection point in India’s history. What will it throw up? Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be hoping to repeat 2014, and the opposition, especially the UPA, led by the Congress, will want to deny Modi another chance.

The opposition unity has not coalesced as it was hoped to, but the good thing for Rahul & Co, is that there are significant state-level gathbandhans which can deny Modi a 2014-like satisfaction. Is there a Modi Wave, after the Balakote pre-emptive strikes? Even if there is one, it will be hard to sustain because no wave can go on for seven consecutive phases and remain a wave. Ask any seashore!

Aditya Aamir is a freelance journalist. Views are personal.

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