Is pro-Hindutva trend losing traction in elections?

In 1988, noted public intellectuals Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman exposed the US mass media and its propaganda model, accusing it of fabricating consent in favour of the ruling class. Since then, the concept has grown to encompass similar roles of media in various polities around the world. The concept has been validated worldwide and has become a major tool in analyzing the political economies of mass media in various countries. Recent elections in India conform to the classic conceptualization of Herman and Chomsky.

In addition, we can identify elements of authoritarianism in the electoral process. The manner in which the dates were announced, polling was conducted in two phases, and no action was taken against violations of the model code of conduct all pointing to the poll body's demise as an institution. The conduct of different stakeholders, including political parties, during elections, is also full of indifference toward the norms of democracy. Even though it is a relatively new entrant in India's electoral politics, the Aam Aadmi Party has also learned the trick. With all of its lofty promises, the party clearly reaffirmed its soft Hindutva leanings. The Gujarat elections testify to how machinations overtake morality in the age of post-truth, and interests that operate against democracy and the constitution banish truth without much effort. However, we must acknowledge that the Indian media has unwittingly accepted the ongoing farce by referring to the triumph in Gujarat as 'Modi magic'.

Let us analyze the so-called magic of Modi. Two states, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat went to elections, and the BJP could win only Gujarat. The BJP lost the other one, Himachal Pradesh, despite the fact that it raised all the issues, including the Uniform Civil Code, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the abrogation of Article 370, and the ongoing construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Prime Minister Modi had directly appealed for a vote in his name. The BJP largely avoided local issues, and its campaign essentially revolved around the ideology of Hindutva. The power of Hindutva did not work in Himachal, nor did the brand of the Prime Minister.

In order to give a push to the campaign for 2024, the narrative of magic is being floated. However, the facts hardly support it. Gujarat has witnessed similar results in the past. In 1985, the Congress had won 149 seats with 55.5 per cent of the votes. Though the BJP increased its seat count, it was unable to match the percentage of votes received by Congress at the time.

Undoubtedly, victory in Gujarat is very important, keeping in mind the anti-incumbency of over two decades. The important question is how this victory has been achieved. No one is taking into account the fact that the playing field was not even. Unlike their predecessors, the current members of India's Election Commission have abandoned efforts to ensure free and fair elections. Apparently, no check was in place to prevent overspending, and no attempt was made to prevent the media from violating norms.

Every single rally of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, was broadcast live, while Congress' campaign hardly found any effective space in the media. Several Chief Election Commissioners have attempted to limit the use of the media during elections. Nassem Zaidi, during his tenure as Chief Election Commissioner, had done a comprehensive exercise and come out with an extensive procedure to curb the menace of paid news. During the last five years, we hardly found any mention of paid news in the activities of the Election Commission. We have not seen any action against any newspaper or channel for publishing or broadcasting material that is partisan.

The most abused section of the People's Representation Act has been one that relates to hate speech. None other than Home Minister Amit Shah invoked the memory of the 2002 riots and boasted how people were taught a lesson. The Election Commission of India took no notice of such violations. The Prime Minister was doing a road show for the second phase while polling was on for the first phase.

The magic did not work in by-elections either. Six assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat were also up for grabs. The BJP snatched two assembly seats from the opposition, one each in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is true that both seats were important for more than one reason. The BJP won the Kudhni seat in Bihar from the JDU-RJD Mahagathbandhan, The RJD won the seat in 2017. The win will boost the confidence of the BJP, which is currently running without any formidable partner in the state to confront a robust alliance of Congress, the RJD, the JDU, and the Left parties.

The BJP has won the assembly seat of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. The constituency has been a bastion of the Samajwadi Party. Here, there is a popular leader, Azam Khan. The Muslim-dominated constituency had been returning the SP leader for two decades. The saffron party, the BJP, has been targeting the seat for years to use it to strengthen a narrative of communal polarization.

However, the polarisation narrative failed in another constituency. The BJP lost Khatauli in western UP. Jayant Chaudhary's RLD has won the seat. This is an important development as it shows a reversal of the pro-Hindutva trend and a revival of social equations that had been preventing the BJP from gaining ground in Jatland. The BJP could gain a foothold after the social alliance between Muslims and Jats broke down in the wake of the Muzaffarnagar riots.

Also, the Samajwadi Party retained the Lok Sabha seat of Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh with a good margin. The media is dismissing it as a case of sympathy for the family of Mulayam Singh. Is it not important that people respect the sentiments of the family? Instead of celebrating imaginary magic and glorifying tricks involved in it, the media should question the way the election process has been manipulated.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)