2024-03-26 15:37:17
General Election 2024 Hindi News: In the Lok Sabha elections, opposition parties would like to limit the attention of voters to local issues. In the states ruled by the opposition, the BJP will also be tempted to expose the opposition parties by highlighting local problems. However, this can be harmful for the party.
highlights
- Fifth note of musical scale. BJP would like to count the flaws of Trinamool Congress rule in Bengal
- Similar greed will haunt BJP in other opposition ruled states also
- If BJP focuses on local level than national then the opposition will be in advantage.
A Bengali technician living in North Kolkata came to me last week for a maintenance job. Predictably, the conversation turned to the upcoming general elections. He believed that despite the goodwill and support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP would not be able to defeat Trinamool Congress in the urban seats of Kolkata. He believed that the reason for this was the deep penetration of Trinamool in local (para) clubs which reflected the urban chic. Trinamool also organizes community events, especially the week-long Durga Puja festival. In contrast, the BJP’s presence was limited to the main roads. It has not yet been successful in gaining entry into the streets of the city. The extent to which local alliances will be harmed by the high-profile Presidential election-style campaign focused on Narendra Modi will be known on the day of counting of votes. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that in many states, especially where non-BJP parties are in power, the battle will be fought on two different conceptions of parliamentary politics. The first is based on the assumption that ‘the core of politics lies in local issues.’ This is an American belief which believes that most voters cannot differentiate between an MP and an MLA or a corporator. If senior leaders at the local level do not support someone’s candidature in the Lok Sabha constituency, then the public feels that this outsider candidate does not even know about our problems. But when the support of the local leaders is received, the confidence in the same candidate increases among the voters because the local leaders, in a way, come into the role of mediator. It does not matter that an MP cannot directly influence the decisions of the state government or the local body, as far as the voters are concerned, Delhi must act on the problems faced by the voters.
Against this highly local view of politics is the sublime view of the role of an MP that Edmund Burke expressed when addressing the voters of his constituency in 1774. He said, ‘Parliament is not an institution of people representing various conflicting interests…; (It) is a gathering of a nation where high level discussions take place, which has only one interest and that is for all; Where local motives and local prejudices should not be given any importance… You literally elect a member; But when you have elected him he is not the Member for Bristol but he is the Member of Parliament.’ The national role that Burke set out for the individual MP has over time devolved upon the political party, without whose blessing no MP can hope to be elected, nor with a large constituency. Can live in Rabte. The distinction between national and local is not really good for an MP after election. However, it definitely creates the narrative of the election campaign.
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There was a time when Congress, in its role as the leading party of the country, took upon itself the responsibility of speaking for the entire nation. Whatever be the parameters of candidate choice, both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi promoted the presidential election style in the Lok Sabha elections. The most vigorous expression of the national impulse came in the 1984 elections when Rajiv Gandhi won a national mandate to protect the unity of the country. Parties like BJP and Communists may have a national vision, but they did not have a nationally acceptable face. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the first non-Congress face with nationwide appeal. When BJP displaced Congress from the top position, the political narrative of the country also changed. It is becoming increasingly clear that the constituents of the fragmented opposition alliance want the elections to be fought on local issues. It is always easier to focus on the shortcomings at the local level than to question the government’s national achievements or its goals of developing India. On the other hand, the main appeal for the ruling BJP is national. For example, it is not in the interest of the BJP to fight Mamata Banerjee’s party on purely local issues. Of course, there are many fascinating issues like scams, atrocities and violence that took place during the long rule of Trinamool at the state level, yet BJP should keep its entire narrative Modi centric.Opinion: Has BJP really made a big win in Bengal, will the party defeat Mamata with the joining of the judge?
If the BJP does not succeed in creating a narrative on national issues in the Lok Sabha elections, the voters’ attention will shift from Modi to the candidate who has influence on the streets and in local clubs. For the BJP, the key to ‘crossing 400’ is to make the election a completely pan-India affair and project Modi as a candidate in all 543 constituencies. On the other hand, the besieged opposition will try to fight the Lok Sabha elections on local issues. For now, the BJP’s all-out national campaign is dominating the opposition, but not equally everywhere. The next few weeks will determine whether the potholes along the way will boost or slow down the pace.
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