India Votes-2024

The Election Commission of India has sounded the poll bugle for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.It has announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha Elections that will be conducted in seven phases starting from 19th April to 1st June. The counting of votes will take place on 4th June. This year the electoral atmosphere is absolutely different from the previous elections. As the political scenario in the country is guided by the visibility of the incumbent regimes policies that have been able to synchronise with the common masses. The present dispensation at the centre has been sensitive to the mood of the nation and thus channelized its electoral strategy in an adept manner. The lack of comprehensive strategy on the part of the opposition has landed it in a dilemma. This Lok Sabha Election will underline the political reality of India in terms of the political poles that will emerge. From the existing electoral equation it is a foregone conclusion that Narendra Modi defines the political landscape of India. This year it is a litmus test for the entire opposition to establish its political credibility. As the lack of political narrative has rendered the Opposition parties rudderless. Especially the Indian National Congress (INC) has not been able to create the critical mass. A healthy democracy needs competition based on issues and  public good. Congress has failed to establish itself as a viable political alternative. It has not been able to groom the national faces that can withstand the Modi juggernaut. On the contrary it has got itself mired in unwanted controversies. This can be understood from the failures of the  Congress led INDIA alliance that was created to give a competition to Modi’s leadership that emerged in 2014 and is now seeking the third term from the electorate. The INDIA alliance has failed to keep its flock together. The electoral thinking of the masses has gone through a sea change. For a long time India witnessed an era of the coalition governments with one single party getting the complete mandate. But the 2014 elections changed the complexion. Indian voters being tired of the coalition governments gave a clear mandate to the Narendra Modi led NDA in which BJP established itself as the national alternative  for a stable government. Experts were concerned with the stability of the government at the centre. As the coalition governments had rendered the centre weak. Though the BJP led NDA too is a coalition but it is an open secret now that it is the BJP and its strong Prime Ministerial candidate Modi that holds the ground. Voters want a strong leader who can uphold India as a resurgent nation and Narendra Modi has proven that he can deliver. The foreign policy outreach and the issues related to national security have situated him in the national mind space  as the leader who has the tendency to stand up to the international pressures and sail India through. Neutralisation of Article 370 and 35 A has proved that Modi led dispensation can work beyond rhetoric and can act against subversion. His  effort for the amicable resolution of the Ram Janam Bhoomi issue at Ayodhya has earned him national respect. Not only that he has extended his helping hand to the people who have been inflicted with genocidal attrition in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan  by implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA).Let us hope this election as assured by the Election Commission will be ensured with transparency and free from 4Ms of Muscle, Money, Misinformation and Model Code Violation.