Polls: Food, jobs, safety matter the most

There has probably never been a general election in India where the rights and issues pertaining to the minority community have been so much a subject of debate.

The frequent accusations by the ruling BJP against the Opposition Congress that it is planning to target the quotas of other communities and hand them over to the Muslims and the hot denial by the Congress that this was a carefully orchestrated plan to isolate the minorities and consolidate the votes of the majority Hindu community, have led to a piquant situation with ‘pivotal issues’ getting side-lined.

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah continued the offensive against the ‘minority appeasement’ of the opposition claiming that opposition leaders did not attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as they were afraid of losing their vote bank.

He went on to say that the ongoing election is a battle between “those who opened fire on the devotees of Lord Ram, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who built the Ram temple”.

With the campaign speeches focused mostly on whipping up communal sentiments, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging poll code violations by BJP leaders. He asserted that leaders of the saffron party are now “resorting to inciting hatred using anti-Muslim tropes”.

“The ECI must act immediately. ECI cannot consciously remain silent which is tantamount to the betrayal of its constitutional mandate to conduct free and fair polls,” Yechury said.

The CPI(M) has filed a number of complaints against Modi and other BJP leaders for violation of the Model Code of Conduct, including those related to the PM’s speech in Banswara in Rajasthan.

In his speech, Modi had reportedly suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would “redistribute” wealth among Muslims. It is more than obvious that a poll campaign with a strong religious slant would definitely take away the focus from serious issues concerning the poor and the deprived, which include unemployment, rising prices and climate change induced natural disasters.

Religion is an intensely personal issue for most Indians and what better way to secure their support than harp on one’s faith?

In the past however, campaigns of all major political parties have focused on basic economic issues and promises to redress them; In 2014, when the BJP led NDA swept the poll, it were the many scams of the Congress-led UPA government and the popular anti-corruption campaigns launched by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal which spelt the death knell for the ruling front Even in 2019, Demonetisation and the Balakot strikes dominated the poll discourse with the BJP having the last laugh.

Is this shift to a campaign based on polarising issues happening because the ruling dispensation at the Centre feels the ‘400 paar’dream is no long easy to achieve because of anti-incumbency and its lacklustre performance on the economic front?

Have the feedbacks from the states given a pessimistic indication that this is no poll battle which can be easily won, with an aggressive opposition augmented by regional satraps taking the battle to the ruling front?

It seems quite easy in a multi-religion country like India to drive a wedge between communities citing appeasement of the minorities and the ‘danger’ to all that they consider sacred.

But those relentlessly pursuing such poll strategies in the hope of garnering electoral advantage, would be better off remembering that there is no one wiser than the voter; and for him, what finally matters is a comfortable life bereft of hardship, affordable food and shelter, easily available jobs and the best education for his kids.

Any party which remains oblivious to these basic needs and aspirations, is no doubt be in for an electoral shock.