"It feels like a powerful gut punch.” That's very much how it is. If the BJP juggernaut keeps moving on - which, now, has started looking almost impossible to stop, in the coming days - apart from many other things, the "federal" element in the Indian state structure - already under attack, would be severely emasculated. The political system would be reduced to a virtually - though not formally, one-party state - as is the case with Putin's Russia (or Erdogan's Turkey).
*What stands out in this poll is that a state in which dead bodies floated down the rivers - in the very recent past, the incumbent Chief Minister has, regardless, notched up a thumping victory - further raising the voting percentage.* *And think of it that this has happened against the backdrop of a historic farmers' movement!* *Some doles to A and some other doles to B is just no explanation.* *In a way, that same story has been repeated in Uttarakhand.* *The only, stark, exception is Punjab - a Sikh-majority state and, to a far lesser extent, Goa - a state where one-third of the population is non-Hindu including the one-fourth that's Christian.* So, *at the end of the day, (Hindu) nationalism has trumped all other routine considerations - in a very routine manner, without any "war" or "riot" or whatever.* The implications are too chilling. Yet, giving up is just no option. *All physical, intellectual and moral resources need be mobilised to block the return of the Modi regime - in the next general election in 2024, howsoever impossible it may look like at the moment.* *Otherwise, Indian democracy - continuing its accelerating slide downward, would soon descend to the level of a "democracy" under Putin, or Erdogan, even if not outright under Xi - leaving too little room for any meaningful fightback.* We, in all probability, would need some providential help too - maybe in terms of something happening on the global level or something else even less anticipated. But, *at the moment, the fight must go on and, in fact, further intensify*. <<First, a harsh truth: It is not just the contesting parties that were defeated in this election. Not just the Samajwadi Party that lost a winnable election, not just the Congress that did not even put up a good fight, not just the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that is in terminal decline, not just the political establishment of the Punjab that was deservedly decimated. We all had stakes in this election. We, who believed in the idea of a democratic republic, we who live by the Preamble to the Constitution, we who idolise Bapu, Babasaheb and Bhagat. We have been defeated. Let us not pay heed to any excuses of poll irregularities or EVM rigging (even if true, they do not explain the margin of defeat). Let there be no false consolations: a vote share increase here, the defeat of some communally tainted leaders there. The fact is that we lost it fair and square. Second, it is not just an election that we have lost. As political scientist Suhas Palshikar reminds us, the challenge we face is bigger, deeper and enduring. We are dealing with a hegemonic power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s electoral dominance is based on an infinitely superior communication, organisational work, media control and money. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal charisma supplements it. This political dominance is backed by an unprecedented use of state power and street power, enough to bend all institutions and silence most voices of dissent. Above all, there is an ideological and cultural acceptance. The BJP has managed to hijack the key cultural resources of politics in India: nationalism, Hinduism and our cultural heritage. This creates what scholar Pratap Bhanu Mehta calls “prior trust” that enables the BJP to get away with misgovernance in most of the states it won. The fact is that a vast proportion of the Indian public has been mobilised for the project of dismantling our republic.>> (Excerpted from: < https://theprint.in/opinion/road-to-2024-was-always-tough-it-got-tougher-and-bleaker-after-the-assembly-elections/868930/ >.) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZiFWy-pzdDivMPr9JQO7OBfqmwAaf3%3DuwO7u3y%3Dpn069Q%40mail.gmail.com.
