The 2024 general election has been laden with historical connections and community rhetoric. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew attention to an 18-year-old speech by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he claimed that minorities, particularly Muslims, have the first claim to the nation’s resources, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has invoked her family’s sacrifices in all of her speeches, referring to the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and her father Rajiv Gandhi.
Lalu Prasad has been accused by Modi of attempting to shield the perpetrators of the 2002 Godhra train fire by creating a commission that acquitted them.
This, he claimed, was another instance of minority appeasement. The issue of Indira Gandhi’s 1974 decision to hand over the disputed Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka was brought up during the first round of Tamil Nadu’s election on April 19. Despite claiming to be a sellout of the nation’s interests, the BJP struggled to win support. The focus of campaigning has shifted to the North and East, leaving Katchatheevu largely ignored.
The campaign rhetoric has reached an all-time low, with little emphasis on the government’s accomplishments over the past decade.
The PM and senior ministers have attacked the opposition, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.
Modi’s communal campaign and remarks about Muslims as infiltrators and child-bearing machines are not appropriate for the prime minister of the world’s largest democracy, which is currently conducting a massive election that is viewed with awe by nations worldwide. The BJP, which is struggling in the first two phases of polling, has resorted to its tried-and-true polarisation strategy by accusing the Congress agenda of being influenced by Muslim League ideas.
The claim that the Congress intends to redistribute wealth by transferring Hindu holdings to Muslims is untrue. The Grand Old Party’s agenda makes no mention of such a possibility. The BJP’s claim of having a 400-seat majority to modify the Constitution has created worry among OBCs, SCs, STs, and Dalits that reservations will be removed. INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have raised concerns about this prospect. The BJP is targeting the Hindu electorate by accusing the INDIA alliance of cutting quotas for Dalits and other underprivileged Hindus and giving them to Muslims. The Election Commission has largely overlooked a communal campaign that violates the Model Code of Conduct, leading critics to accuse the poll body of being a toothless institution that primarily serves the government’s interests.
The media has largely ignored the campaign’s clear communal basis, fueling accusations that it has become a government instrument rather than the fourth pillar of democracy.
Reaching out to Lord Ram through communal appeals is a simple process. Modi’s visit to Ayodhya, which included a roadshow and an emotional visit to the Ram Lalla temple, was likely motivated by concerns about BJP supporters disrupting the poll. The saffron party’s reliance on Ram temple excitement has failed, since the elaborate Pran Pratishtha event presided over by Modi on January 22nd has been forgotten by the public. The Indian electoral system is known for its volatility and limited recall.
Religion and caste only have so much weight.
People continue to be concerned about basic issues like joblessness, rising prices, and healthcare access. The Opposition has consistently raised issues that resonate with voters, as their everyday lives revolve around them. INDIA alliance leaders should recognise that the BJP’s communal campaign is a diversionary technique and oppose it with serious facts and numbers. Indian voters have shown that they cannot be taken for granted. Parties must be aware of their expectations.
ABHISHEK VERMA
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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