George Abraham Column: Modi’s claim of 400 plus seats is based on inaccurate data on EVMs

George Abraham

By George Abraham–

(George Abraham is Vice-Chairman and Former President of the Indian Overseas Congress. The views expressed in this article are his own)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims that their NDA coalition will win 400 plus seats for the upcoming parliamentary elections that will take place starting April 19. Is it even a realistic assessment, considering nationwide political dynamics? What is the purpose of making such exaggerated claims if they are not rooted in accurate data?

BJP’s history is replete with fraudulent claims and unscrupulous behavior. Why then should the public believe it now? In any case, this entire public relations campaign is aimed at enthusing the cadres.

Sam Pitroda, who pioneered India’s telecommunications revolution, retorted, “BJP can win more than 400 seats in the 2024 elections if issues associated with EVMs are not fixed.” He cited a report by The Citizens’ Commission on Elections, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur, and said that the main recommendations of the report were to modify the current design of the VVPAT System to make it truly “voter-verified.”

BJP leaders are seemingly engaged in a psychological warfare where people are being conditioned to believe that Modi’s victory is inevitable. It has dual purposes: one is to demoralize the opposition and dispirit their grassroots, and the other is to set up the stage for any illicit operations that would benefit the party before a desensitized electorate. Their strategy is apparently working.

The public generally assumes that Modi’s third term is inevitable, and to them, it is just a numbers game as far as how big a majority his party could achieve. Is the Indian electorate so naïve as to believe a narrative created by the BJP without supporting facts?

However, the BJP is confident that a public that believes in the “Gujarat Model” can be swayed time after time and will fall prey to their deception once again.

An entirely different picture might emerge if one looks at the electoral map. Their carefully crafted plans may have little impact in South India. With Karnataka going back to the Congress fold, a repeat BJP win is unlikely. The victory in Telangana by the Congress, and the BJP’s lack of an alliance with TRS may also spell trouble for Modi’s party.

In short, BJP’s plan of building on the 2019 election results is further complicated by the setbacks in these two southern states. With 130 seats distributed among the five states and the union territory in the south, the BJP’s chances of making any substantial gains in South India will remain elusive.

Sam Pitroda

In the northern states, BJP swept almost each of them, creating its brute majority in the Lok Sabha. They have won all the seats in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Tripura. In addition, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, U.P., Odisha, and Chhattisgarh combined for 92% of all seats gained by the NDA coalition. It was an incredible win that even political pundits had a hard time explaining.

For any sane mind, that history will be hard to repeat. At present, the Modi regime is in the middle of a mushrooming corruption scandal involving Electoral bonds. If the current allegations of pay-to-play are proven, this BJP government may be one of the most corrupt administrations in the history of an Independent India.

This is the party that came to power, putting the Manmohan Singh government on the defensive as regards a number of alleged scams. Yet, they have far exceeded in excelling in corrupt ways while covering up their misdeeds from the public’s view. Thanks to the Supreme Court, the public is learning much more about the crimes and the exploitation the country has been subjected to.

For the BJP leaders, it is imperative that they stay in power not only to perpetuate their ideology and remake India in its medieval ways but also to be in the unenviable position of power where they will never be held accountable for their misdeeds and misgovernance.

It is common knowledge that the economy for the man on the main street is not working that well. Rampant inflation, increasing unemployment among the youth, and persistent poverty at the lower end of the strata have all clouded the high GDP numbers India boasts about.

The economy is working for the elites and the super-rich, who already own 40% of India’s wealth. It is crony capitalism at its best, joined at the hip by the governing establishment.

There is a limit to one who can exploit religious sentiment to win votes. The euphoria over the Ram Janmabhoomi Kshetra may be just about dissipated. Patriot games using CAA and NRC may also have found their boundaries. Therefore, despite all the bravado about winning 400 or more seats, the BJP team must be worried, and their internal polls must have indicated the same.

This is why we should be concerned about our elections being free and fair. It doesn’t matter whether the electorate is dissatisfied or opposition parties run a well-rounded campaign if the will of the people is not truly reflected in the outcome.

Some countries in the world would conduct pre-determined elections, whereas India stood as a champion of democracy, transferring power when people finally spoke through the ballot boxes. The question being raised by Sam Pitroda and others touches on this susceptible issue,

Free and fair elections are fundamental to a thriving democracy. One of the foremost indications of that effect is citizenship participation in the democratic process. It is every citizen’s right and duty to vote in the electoral process. Through that participation, they help to build a better democratic system that could effectively serve the public.

However, intimidation, corruption, and threats to citizens during or before an election are against the principles of democracy, and the same also holds true for manipulating the voter lists or the voting mechanisms. There ought to be transparency in the public square where those in power are genuinely accountable to the people, and the voters should be fully appraised of what decisions are made, by whom, and why.

Therefore, the Supreme Court’s query to the Election Commission on adding VVPAT to every EVM is sensible. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail is a machine that prints a paper slip of a candidate’s name, serial number, and party’s symbol after a voter cast their vote. It displays a paper slip for seven seconds for the voters to check if their vote is cast for the chosen candidate. The paper slip then drops down to a locked compartment, and it can be used to audit voting data in the EVMs. Whether the handpicked election commissioners by Modi Sarkar would comply with the public sentiment on this issue will be critical in saving democracy for India and its future generations.

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