The People’s Verdict 1: Trends from the Election in a Nutshell

The counting of the 15^th Lok Sabha elections has concluded, and all 543 constituencies have declared their respective winners in a judicious and competent manner, where the process of counting cannot be questioned by any parties. The verdict by the electorate signals three fundamental patterns: in a country as vast as India, results cannot be analyzed in a black-and-white fashion, as there is always more to be known that can be seen by data. In this very election, after three decades, caste again served as the most vital issue: the ruling dispensation could not exploit the religiosity embedded in the electorate, especially after the consecration of the Ram Mandir (the BJP lost the Ayodhya constituency). Communal hatred could only extrapolate greater than the already 15% to 20% committed Hindu vote that the BJP garners. Moreover, after caste, rudimentary economic policies were of concern: deprivation of jobs to the youth, lack of adequate public facilities, risk of dwindling affirmative action, and the most important cost of living. The aforementioned phenomenon serves as the bedrock for the dissent against the power structure; however, to note, other issues also resonate to a great magnitude: threats to the democratic structure, changes to the constitution that may reduce rights-based guarantees, and particularly reservations among lower sections of society. The aforementioned points signal a shift in the importance of the general voter—a sign of normal politics coming back into the fray.