UP Sets Glorious Record, Rejects Modi's Hate-Filled Poll Speeches

As the counting of votes for the 18th Lok Sabha elections progressed on June 4, 2024, across the country, the most shocking blow for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was that his party, which trumpeted to get 370 seats in the Lok Sabha on its own and 400 plus seats with its allies, fell short of the majority mark of 272. It managed to get only 240 seats. Of course, with its allies, the BJP, as part of the NDA alliance, got the majority.

In Ayodhya, BJP’s Candidate Lost

The BJP gave false credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, exactly in the same place where the Babri Mosque stood and was demolished illegally in 1992.

It is well known that the Ram Temple was constructed on the basis of the Supreme Court judgement, wherein it was stated that the demolition of the Babri Mosque was "an egregious violation of rule of law".

Paradoxically, the Ram Temple is in the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, where Ayodhya is located, and the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha seat, Lallu Singh, lost to a Dalit candidate put up by the Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav. It is quite striking that Yadav fielded a Dalit candidate, Awadhesh Prasad, in Faizabad which is a non-reserved constituency.

SP’s Electoral Calculus Trumped Ram Mandir Issue  

The decisive victory of Prasad is a victory for the SP’s PDA  -- Pichda (Backward), Dalit, Alpsankhyak (Minorities) -- electoral  calculus which has humbled BJP, which was solely relying on its slogan of “Jo Ram ko layenge, hum unko layenge (We will bring the ones who brought Ram)” .

In entire Uttar Pradesh, where BJP kept asserting that it would secure 70 plus seats out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seat, it ended up with only 34 seats. Any party winning a substantial number of seats out of the 80 in UP can easily have access to the seat of power at the Centre. Now that BJP has lost hugely in UP, it is on back foot, as it does not have a majority on its own.  

Modi's Communal Agenda  

The electorate of UP, by inflicting such a huge loss on BJP, has rejected the communal polarisation unleashed by the party and its leadership, which strategised to appeal to voters in the name of the Ram Temple and hatred against Muslims. It did so in complete violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct and law which strictly prohibits seeking votes in the name of religion or religious symbols.

The overwhelming rejection of BJP by people of UP in spite of Prime Minister Modi consecrating the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, January this year with massive publicity and propaganda across the country, is truly momentous. It is especially so in the context of Modi himself using Hindu-Muslim binaries and spewing venom against Muslims for the purpose of consolidating voters on communal lines for gaining electoral dividends.

Modi, while consecrating the Ram temple, even went to the extent of demolishing the idea of State neutrality toward religion by stating that Ram means Rashtra (Ram means State) and Dev means Desh (God means country). He did so as part of a calculated plan to launch his election campaign and push his and party's electoral agenda, anchored on communal majoritarianism in contravention of secularism, which is the basic structure of the Constitution.

Saving the Constitution Became an Electoral Issue

The glorious role played by the electorate of UP in foiling BJP's plan of securing more than 70 out of 80 seats of the State is truly a historic step for saving the Constitution and salvaging the ‘idea of India’, which has been assailed by BJP with impunity.

Lallu Singh contesting from Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency as a BJP candidate made a statement that his party's goal of registering victory in 400 Lok Sabha seats was aimed at changing the Constitution. This was interpreted by several Opposition leaders and, most importantly, the Dalits, tribals, other backward classes and Muslims that in case of a huge majority, the Modi regime in its third term, would alter the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar and put an end to reservation in jobs and education provided to them. 

The electorate of UP, by not giving adequate number of Lok Sabha seats to BJP, has certainly voted for defending and protecting the Constitution and have set an example for rest of the country.

The UP voters also rejected BJP's communal politics and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's outrageous claim that if the INDIA bloc came to power it would impose the Islamic Shariah law.

ECI took No Action Against Modi

PM Modi himself made venomous statements against Muslims and even provoked Hindus to treat people professing Islamic faith as their sworn enemies. For instance, he described Muslims as “infiltrators” and spun a false narrative that the reservation meant for Dalits, tribals and OBCs (Other Backward Classes) would be given away to Muslims by the INDIA bloc parties if they form the government at the Centre. Such a communally divisive campaigns by the Prime Minister with toxic Islamophobia, is unprecedented in the electoral history of independent of India.

The Election Commission of India (ECI), which received several complaints against Modi for his speeches stoking communal passions, chose to remain silent and issued a notice not to him, but to his party president J P Nadda, seeking explanation. Strangely, Nadda defended Modi's action by stating that Congress took an anti-Hindu stand and ECI only responded by writing to Nadda that BJP star campaigners made communally divisive statements.

Later, when Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, was asked for reasons why the ECI did not take action against PM Modi, he famously said that the ECI left the top leadership of both BJP and Congress “untouched” because it felt that the persons in the position in this country know their responsibilities. Such a response from someone who occupies the high constitutional position of Chief Election Commissioner clearly proved the point that ECI had no courage and even willingness to take on Modi, who poisoned the electoral process by his hate speeches against Muslims and dividing our society and polity with impunity.

Nehru's Warnings

India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, while campaigning for Congress during the first general elections during 1951 and 1952, had repeatedly cautioned that the biggest danger posed to the country was communalism. He referred to parties, such as the Jan Sangh, which deliberately used communal narratives and employed vulgar phrases and idioms to make them attractive and acceptable to people. It is quite tragic that 73 years after the first general elections, none less than the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, invoked the danger flagged by Nehru for votes, by completely disregarding the unity and communal amity of Indians.

Lessons from UP

It is in this context that the rejection of BJP by the UP electorate in giving less than 50% of Lok Sabha seats affirms their faith in politics free from majoritarianism and divisive agenda spun by Modi himself. The glorious record scripted by UP in this respect augurs well for our country and democracy which should be anchored in secular values and livelihood issues of people.

The writer served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K R Narayanan. The views expressed are personal.