By: Lalit Garg
The echo of the first Lok Sabha elections of the golden age of independence is now being heard clearly. All the political parties of India are now completely in the election mode and every major political party is seen busy decorating their pieces in the election board being laid accordingly. All political parties have geared up for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan sabha elections to be held this year, it is being seen for the first time that election-like preparations are being made long before the elections. Some parties scattered in pieces are uniting by applying fevicol. Group photographs are being taken with the parties of opposing ideology. Some parties are telling the attraction and necessity of change to reach power.
Leaders of some major parties are seeing themselves in the prime minister’s chair. Where voters have become more aware, politicians have also become more intelligent and clever. The way they have started laying black and white pieces on the electoral chessboard, the voter will also seem confused by it. Not getting the eligibility of your interest. Who will take one and a half billion people of the country to the golden age of freedom? All stand naked, who the voter will clothe, it depends on the king of the day. Everyone is busy wooing this one-day king. Some are trying to win elections by resorting to the politics of freebies, while others are dreaming of winning elections on the basis of alliances.
Opposition parties are trying to oust the BJP from power in one way or another, for these efforts are being made to unite the opposition parties. The BJP and its allies are also making all efforts to strengthen their position and come back to power. For this, the NDA has also intensified the search for new allies. Union Home Minister and former BJP President Amit Shah’s recent visit to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh gave strong indications of this. The BJP has been trying to consolidate its ground in South India for a long time. He has also started preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in this regard. The miraculous performance that he performed in the last Lok Sabha elections in North India; it seems difficult for him to repeat it this time. Therefore, if it has to come back to power at the canter with a majority, it will have to increase seats in the south.
This will compensate for the possible shortfall in the number of seats in North India. The BJP was moving forward with full confidence and intensity on this plan, but it was shocked by the Karnataka assembly elections. Since then it has been said that BJP is not as strong as before. But the biggest feature of the BJP is that it is expert in understanding the reasons for its defeat with great depth, understanding those reasons and setting up the mathematics to convert defeat into victory.
The enthusiasm for the general elections is on the rise; this time the election is going to be very interesting and challenging. The Congress has started showing haste to link the Karnataka victory with the general election victory. The way he resorted to the politics of freebies in Himachal and Karnataka, he is ready to repeat it in the assembly elections of various states to be held this year and in the Lok Sabha elections of the year 2024.
The latest proof of this is Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s announcement in Jabalpur that if her government is formed in the state, 100 units of electricity will be given free of cost, cooking gas cylinders will be given for Rs. 500 and women will be given Rs. 1500 per month. Apart from this, he also promised to waive off the loans of the farmers and implement the old pension scheme. She called it the Five Guarantees. Some similar guarantees were given in Karnataka and Himachal, to fulfill them, the elected governments of both the provinces have to work hard, because the financial condition of the state does not allow them to be fulfilled.
The guarantees, populist promises and freebies that the Congress is talking about, other parties are also doing the same, in which the Aam Aadmi Party has a survey. Because he had given ten guarantees in the recent Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. These guarantees are nothing but populist promises, which are being given the name of public welfare. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan have started a flurry of public welfare schemes six months before the elections, due to which the election atmosphere of the state is heating up.
Election is the most important event in the life of any nation. This is like a ‘Yagya of democracy. Democracy is the strongest leg of the system. A day to exercise the constitutionally granted sacred franchise of every adult in the nation. Now no Rajpurohit or Rajguru sits on the throne of power, but the public chooses the hero by applying tilak on their hands. But on whom to apply Janata Tilak, all kinds of punishments are being adopted for this. Every political party is telling its populist promises and announcements as the essence of Gita, which will remove all problems and cure all diseases. But if this had happened, even after reaching the golden age of independence, the country would not have been seen struggling with poverty, inflation, corruption, bureaucracy, unemployment, illiteracy, health problems. In such a situation, if the voter casts his vote blindly without discretion, then the result will reflect the saying that “if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.”
Lok sabha elections will not only decide the fate of the parties, but will affect national policies like industry, trade, defense etc., and national unity, self-culture self-identity and the whole lifestyle and culture of brotherhood of the nation. Although in every election the basis of class and caste remains, but this time class, caste, religion and regionalism are seen emerging in a big way. And on the basis of parties, alliances have also changed in one state and in another state. An ally in one province is an opponent in another. The distinction between principle and selfishness has been erased by the chair. The result of the elections is still in the minds of the people. What secret will the ballot boxes reveal; it is in the womb of time. But a message will be received from this election that if only one empowered person is determined, then the problems of indiscipline, corruption, inflation, poverty etc. can be curbed. But instead of building the country and moving towards development, all the parties are trying to create an indolent generation by distributing freebies. Sometimes such announcements are also made, which are not possible to fulfill. They are either completed half-heartedly or late or they are funded out of public money.
For example, to fulfill the promise of giving 200 units of electricity free of cost, the Karnataka government has increased the cost of electricity. Similarly, the Punjab government increased VAT on petrol and diesel. Making populist promises ignoring the financial condition to win elections is blatant playing with the economy. If this is not stopped, the public will have to suffer its consequences. It is unfortunate and irony of the country if the election which is a medium for the selection of a strong and ideal ruler leader, results in the selection of worthless, thugs and undemocratic leaders. (The author is a journalist, columnist & can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)
