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Suresh Karki

Prof. Hrisikesh Upadhyaya

Democracy and Citizenship

21 May 2019

Indian General Elections

Although results are yet to be finalized, if exit polls are to be believed, BJP and its

coalition parties are set to win the majority in India paving way for Mr. Narendra Modi once

again to be the prime minister of India. Despite a severely divisive campaign from the opposition

parties led by Mr. Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, the ruling BJP, at the moment, seems to

be unshakable, and PM Modi’s popularity unassailable. In my opinion, there are several lessons

to be learnt from this result.

First of all, the elections were largely peaceful and, therefore, a resounding success in

that Democracy has further strengthened in India. Despite the skeptical view of its former

colonists, the notion that nations such as India are not ‘fit for democracy’ is continuously being

debunked. This further corroborates the argument put forth by Dr. Amartya Sen in his article

‘Democracy as a Universal Value’. Secondly, at the moment in India, there just seems to be no

alternative to Mr. Modi as the country’s leader, and Congress party and Mr. Rahul Gandhi seem

to be clueless as to how to make resurgence. Thirdly, looking at the global trend, we can see that

strongman politicians are in the rise around the world and looks like populism is here to stay at

least for the moment. From the election of Trump in the United States, to Jair Bolsonaro in

Brazil, from Erdogan in Turkey to Duterte in Philippines – they all point us towards that

direction.
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Finally, for the moment in India as shown by the election results, it is apparent that BJP’s

nationalist Hindu politics is heavily favored. But in the long run, I think Mr. Modi needs a more

conciliatory approach towards the minorities and the opposition parties. The current climate of

hostility between politicians and widespread anxiety among minorities do not bode well from the

long term well-being of the country. Hopefully, the country will get past its rancorous election-

time theatrics and on to the path of a more equitable, just, and prosperous India for all.