Modi wave propels voter turnout to all-time high
With the last vote to elect India's 16th lok Sabha having been cast, pollsters have already begun number-crunching to predict the shape and strength of the next Government. The first round of exit polls shows, as expected, that a BJP-led NDA Government will take charge with Mr Narendra Modi at the helm. There will be enough time over the next few days and even after the votes are counted on May 16, right up to Government-formation, to scrutinise the numbers, examine voting trends and dish out reams of electoral analysis. So before the nation plunges head-long into the next phase of electioneering, let us take a moment to acknowledge the larger picture — first, the world’s largest electoral exercise which took place in a staggered manner over a period of more than 30 days was, by and large, peaceful. This is an important achievement especially when one takes into consideration the number of voters who braved Maoist bullets and separatists’ threats to come to the polling booth. For this, we must thank the thousands of security personnel who stood guard this entire time. Second, the election was also, by and large, free and fair. Yes, there are reports of electoral fraud and these are being investigated. Re-polling has also been ordered in some stations but overall, the Election Commission (which did slip-up a couple of times) still deserves a pat on the back.
However, the most precious take-away from this election is this: Voter turn-out in this election has been pegged at an all-time high of 66.38 per cent. With this score, India beat its historic best of 64.01 per cent which was registered during the 1984 general election. That year, the tumultuous events leading up to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had shaken the nation; the electorate responded by taking to the ballot with a vengeance in a bid to restore peace and stability in the country. Rajiv Gandhi was swept to power by a tremendous ‘sympathy wave'. Three decades later, there is a ‘wave' yet again — the Modi wave. But this one is driven not by public sympathy or national tragedy. No, the Modi wave derives its incredible strength from the hopes and aspirations of more than a billion people who want to see their nation develop and progress. From this perspective alone, the 2014 general election is a landmark one that has the potential to redefine that much debated ‘Idea of India'.
Development, growth, good governance, jobs, productivity — these were the overarching themes of the campaign by popular demand. The BJP, particularly its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, had their fingers' on the nation’s pulse and ran a campaign that addressed the demands of the people. The incumbent Congress-led UPA regime, on the other hand, failed miserably to read the national mood. Having little to show by way of governance even after a decade in power, it led a negative and mostly reactive campaign. It busied itself with petty pursuits — alternately running down Mr Modi and raising the bogey of communal violence. When neither worked, it turned to its first family for a heavy dose of Nehru-Gandhi nostalgia. But even these booster shots delivered towards the fag end of the campaign failed to revive the party's electoral fortunes.