The People Power & The Beauty of Democracy

 

What an interesting time to be in Delhi, in the heart of India, witnessing the largest democracy in the world and its general election result. It’s fascinating to see the power of the people and what hope looks like.

No, the government is not changing. It is most likely that Narendra Modi will be the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time. BJP and its alliance, NDA, have secured around 295 seats, with 272 being the majority mark. However, this is somewhat of a political defeat for them and a win for democracy. The Indian people decided to humble the pride and ego of the BJP. From the beginning of the campaign, BJP was chanting “Aab ki baar, 400 par.” They were confident they would get 400+ seats, but now we can see that they couldn’t even cross the 300 mark with their alliance, where BJP only got 240 seats, far less than the majority mark, so they now need the help of other parties from the alliance to form the government. This is the beauty of democracy. I know democracy is not flawless, but some beauty lies within it. Where the people have the ultimate power. Where people don’t need to be afraid of a party; a party needs to be afraid of the people. Where common men are the most powerful one. No matter who is in the power, no matter how big the party is, the mass people have the power to shattered the ego,the pride of that party, be it Congress or BJP or any other. BJP, a party that is on power, clearly have lot more advantages on their side, but still couldn’t get the number they want, just because people are more powerful than a party. 

Congress and its alliance, INDIA, got around 235 seats, a significant rise from the last time. For the good of democracy, it’s important to have a strong opposition. No matter who forms the government now, it is now sure that there will be a strong opposition. Who can batter know then us, when a country become a one party state, then what happens.

The result is interesting for many reasons. Uttar Pradesh, known as BJP’s home ground, is particularly noteworthy. This time also BJP was sure that they are going to get the majority there, but who knew Akhilesh Yadav will became the most impact player here, his party Samajwadi Party gained the majority in UP, and with INDIA almost 10 seats ahead of NDA. The loss of Smriti Irani from Amethi and losing in Ayodhya, where the Ram Mandir was built, is a big lost for BJP. Prime Minister Modi won from Varanasi with a margin of only 1 lakh, four times less than last time. In Indore, more than one lakh people voted for NOTA (None of the Above), setting a record.

Even after gaining the majority, it is still not certain who will form the government. There is still hope for INDIA. If Nitish Kumar and his party JDU, and Chandrababu Naidu and his party TDP from Andhra Pradesh, decide to join INDIA instead of NDA, the situation could change dramatically.(Both Nitish and Naidu were former allies of INDIA). Anything can happen; not my word, but what I’ve been watching on the news all day.

Another important aspect is the impact of social media influencers and independent journalists. People like Dhruv Rathee, Ravish Kumar, The Deshbhakts and many more plays an important role here when the tv media became the biesed one. We need people like them in our country badly.

Why am I so interested in this election? I know there are no direct benefits for me. If BJP forms the government, congratulations to them; if INDIA forms the government, congratulations to them as well. I have nothing to do with it. I am just happy to see the beauty of democracy and how interesting an election can be. I am happy to see the power of normal people—farmers, workers, low-income individuals—who we often overlook. They can change the power dynamics of a country if democracy is still alive. Seeing all this, I feel somewhat sad too. When we will get see this in our country? When? Why I have to be interested of others countries politics rather then my own one? When the younger generations of our country get to see something just like this, to feel pressure for their supporting party, to get adrenaline rush while watching the election result, When? Can we even hope for it?