Image Source: Times of India
India – On Friday, India, renowned as the world’s largest democracy, embarked on its national elections spanning from April 19 to June 1, conducted in seven phases. The final results will be announced on June 4, determining the upcoming leadership.
Many view this electoral process as a routine step for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure their positions for a third term leading the Indian government.
Despite overwhelming statistics and predictions favouring a decisive victory for the BJP, Shaik Zakeer Hussain, Editor of the Cognate, expressed concerns prevailing among a significant percentage of India’s population, predominantly the Muslim minority.
This concern stems from the history of discriminatory laws and actions by the state and affiliated right-wing organisations associated with the BJP.
The Muslim community in India has faced persecution, incidents of incited violence, and hate speech. The prevailing fear is that these challenges may intensify and worsen during PM Modi and the BJP’s prospective third term.
“There’s, of course, the Muslim population whose rights have been crushed. There have been many instances of riots that have taken place across the country, and there have been many instances of violence unleashed by right-wing organisations which have links with the ruling BJP government. There are also many of the policies which have been seen as discriminatory against the Muslim community. There are a lot of other policies that the government says will be brought into law once it comes back to power again.”
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The anticipation of another victory for PM Modi and the BJP rests on several pillars, including Modi’s growing popularity, his Hindu nationalist stance, and his numerous achievements.
However, victory requires more than relying solely on popularity. Much of the expected success is attributed to the fragmented, ineffectual opposition, which lacks both strategy and a coherent ideological counter to challenge the BJP.
This does not suggest that the BJP’s influence on this state of affairs is absent. Reports have accused the BJP of leveraging state agencies to target and incarcerate political rivals.
Additionally, Hussain noted a pattern of targeting independent media and press outlets. The BJP has also tried to stifle dissenting voices, particularly those opposing the predominant narrative in mainstream media, which often serves as a conduit for PM Modi and the BJP.
“The government owns much of the mainstream media in the country. Whether it’s TV channels or newspapers, most are politically aligned with Modi and the BJP. It’s usually biased towards the government, and it’s biased against the opposition. Now, these allegations, to a large extent, are true.”
