 "India votes amid polarised campaigns")
Even as India prepared for Thursday’s voting in 117 constituencies, a large chunk of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, divide between the country’s majority and minority communities came to the fore. On Wednesday, while the Election Commission stepped in where it could to enforce rule of law, it seemed ineffective in stopping extreme elements on both sides from grabbing space in the mainstream political discourse.
This could be a major worry, as among the seats going to polls on Thursday are 12 of Uttar Pradesh’s sensitive constituencies (Hathras, Mathura, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj and Akbarpur); parts of Maharashtra, such as some Mumbai seats where communal tension has surfaced in the past; six seats in West Bengal; 10 in Madhya Pradesh and entire Tamil Nadu.
Though no overt communal tension was reported ahead of the polls, the EC swung down hard. It directed district authorities to issue a non-bailable warrant against Giriraj Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Bihar’s Nawada, who refused to apologise for his comment that those who did not vote for his party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, should leave India and go to Pakistan. The poll panel has already barred Singh from campaigning in Bihar and Jharkhand and asked for an explanation for the remarks by Thursday. Singh said he would surrender before a court on Thursday, though he did not specify whether he would do so in Bihar or Jharkhand. If arrested for violating the model code of conduct, his election could be set aside.
However, the Election Commission took no action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Ghaziabad candidate, Shazia Ilmi, for saying at a meeting that Muslims needed to become more communal. Ilmi had clarified she had been misunderstood, though party colleague Manish Sisodia had felt she should not have made those remarks.
In her defence, Ilmi clarified: “I said ‘till when will you vote for so-called secular parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, who do nothing for you?’ I used the word ‘communal’ in sarcasm, so it’s sad I am being misunderstood. AAP doesn’t believe in communalism.”
Meanwhile in Mumbai, Shaina N C, treasurer of BJP’s local unit, strongly objected to an email sent as a voting advisory by St Xavier’s College principal to students.
The email from Frazer Mascarenhas, the pricipal of the college, is affiliated to Mumbai University but is a Catholic minority institution, had raised questions about the good the Gujarat model of development had done to the poor in that state. The poll panel has not taken any action on the email so far.
The EC has also intercepted cash and liquor meant to influence elections at several places, but history will record the 2014 elections as one marred by inflammatory speeches invoking communal sentiment.
If the meeting of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid resulted in an impassioned appeal by the Imam to Muslims to vote for that party, thinly veiled allusions to ‘revenge’ for the riots in Muzaffarnagar had the poll panel banning Amit Shah, the BJP’s election incharge in Uttar Pradesh, from campaigning in the state.
The ban was withdrawn only after he apologised. Also, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s statement that Muslim soldiers had won the Kargil war for India had the BJP see red. The Election Commission issued another notice to Khan on Wednesday.
But these actions do not seem to have laid down any red line. The political discourse had got even more communally tense when Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia warned Muslims in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar not to buy homes in Hindu-dominated localities and asked a resident on Saturday to move out within 48 hours. This might have been a sub-text of Togadia’s own politics but it set the tone for the campaign elsewhere in India.
Thursday’s election, the sixth in a nine-phase poll, will be watched by all protagonists with eagle eyes. For the Samajwadi Party, a lot is at stake as its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s fate will be decided. Also in race in this phase of polling will be Yadav’s daughter-in-law and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, Dimple, and Yadav’s nephew and SP General-Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav’s son, Akshay.
Besides, Bollywood actor Hema Malini is seeking election from Mathura as a BJP candidate, while maverick politician and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s bete noire Amar Singh is contesting from Fatehpur Sikri as a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate. Congress leader and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is contesting from Farrukhabad.
Malini is up against RLD chief Ajit Singh’s son, Jayant Chaudhary, while a Malini namesake is also in the fray as an independent. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, SP had won five of the 12 seats going to polls on Thursday. However, it lost one of those in a bypoll, which brought down its tally to four. Dimple was defeated by the Congress’ Raj Babbar in Firozabad, which was vacated by Akhilesh, who retained Kannauj. In the 2012 Assembly election, Akhilesh gave up Kannauj to enter the state Assembly, while Dimple was elected unopposed. The Congress and RLD had won three and two seats, respectively, while BJP and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party had won a seat each. One seat was won by Kalyan Singh-led Rashtriya Kranti Party, now merged with BJP.
In Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is seeking to prove a political point against all other parties, including BJP, and that makes the poll crucial for Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Similar is the case in West Bengal, where President Pranab Mukherjee’s son, Abhijit and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s bete noire, Deepa Dasmunshi are among the candidates.
This could be a major worry, as among the seats going to polls on Thursday are 12 of Uttar Pradesh’s sensitive constituencies (Hathras, Mathura, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj and Akbarpur); parts of Maharashtra, such as some Mumbai seats where communal tension has surfaced in the past; six seats in West Bengal; 10 in Madhya Pradesh and entire Tamil Nadu.
Though no overt communal tension was reported ahead of the polls, the EC swung down hard. It directed district authorities to issue a non-bailable warrant against Giriraj Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Bihar’s Nawada, who refused to apologise for his comment that those who did not vote for his party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, should leave India and go to Pakistan. The poll panel has already barred Singh from campaigning in Bihar and Jharkhand and asked for an explanation for the remarks by Thursday. Singh said he would surrender before a court on Thursday, though he did not specify whether he would do so in Bihar or Jharkhand. If arrested for violating the model code of conduct, his election could be set aside.
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Also, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Ramdas Kadam, Shiv Sena leader and former leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, by the Mumbai Police. This was in connection with a hate speech against Muslims he had made on Monday at a rally also attended by Modi and Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.
However, the Election Commission took no action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Ghaziabad candidate, Shazia Ilmi, for saying at a meeting that Muslims needed to become more communal. Ilmi had clarified she had been misunderstood, though party colleague Manish Sisodia had felt she should not have made those remarks.
In her defence, Ilmi clarified: “I said ‘till when will you vote for so-called secular parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, who do nothing for you?’ I used the word ‘communal’ in sarcasm, so it’s sad I am being misunderstood. AAP doesn’t believe in communalism.”
Meanwhile in Mumbai, Shaina N C, treasurer of BJP’s local unit, strongly objected to an email sent as a voting advisory by St Xavier’s College principal to students.
The email from Frazer Mascarenhas, the pricipal of the college, is affiliated to Mumbai University but is a Catholic minority institution, had raised questions about the good the Gujarat model of development had done to the poor in that state. The poll panel has not taken any action on the email so far.
The EC has also intercepted cash and liquor meant to influence elections at several places, but history will record the 2014 elections as one marred by inflammatory speeches invoking communal sentiment.
If the meeting of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid resulted in an impassioned appeal by the Imam to Muslims to vote for that party, thinly veiled allusions to ‘revenge’ for the riots in Muzaffarnagar had the poll panel banning Amit Shah, the BJP’s election incharge in Uttar Pradesh, from campaigning in the state.
The ban was withdrawn only after he apologised. Also, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s statement that Muslim soldiers had won the Kargil war for India had the BJP see red. The Election Commission issued another notice to Khan on Wednesday.
But these actions do not seem to have laid down any red line. The political discourse had got even more communally tense when Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia warned Muslims in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar not to buy homes in Hindu-dominated localities and asked a resident on Saturday to move out within 48 hours. This might have been a sub-text of Togadia’s own politics but it set the tone for the campaign elsewhere in India.
Thursday’s election, the sixth in a nine-phase poll, will be watched by all protagonists with eagle eyes. For the Samajwadi Party, a lot is at stake as its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s fate will be decided. Also in race in this phase of polling will be Yadav’s daughter-in-law and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, Dimple, and Yadav’s nephew and SP General-Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav’s son, Akshay.
Besides, Bollywood actor Hema Malini is seeking election from Mathura as a BJP candidate, while maverick politician and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s bete noire Amar Singh is contesting from Fatehpur Sikri as a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate. Congress leader and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is contesting from Farrukhabad.
Malini is up against RLD chief Ajit Singh’s son, Jayant Chaudhary, while a Malini namesake is also in the fray as an independent. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, SP had won five of the 12 seats going to polls on Thursday. However, it lost one of those in a bypoll, which brought down its tally to four. Dimple was defeated by the Congress’ Raj Babbar in Firozabad, which was vacated by Akhilesh, who retained Kannauj. In the 2012 Assembly election, Akhilesh gave up Kannauj to enter the state Assembly, while Dimple was elected unopposed. The Congress and RLD had won three and two seats, respectively, while BJP and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party had won a seat each. One seat was won by Kalyan Singh-led Rashtriya Kranti Party, now merged with BJP.
In Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is seeking to prove a political point against all other parties, including BJP, and that makes the poll crucial for Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Similar is the case in West Bengal, where President Pranab Mukherjee’s son, Abhijit and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s bete noire, Deepa Dasmunshi are among the candidates.