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Yeh Kya Hua, Kaise Hua: Dissecting the Congress’ Lapsus Regnī 

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Baffling exit polls and puncturing the Congress complacency, the BJP has battled anti-incumbency to secure its third term in Haryana. An inordinate number of dissidents, glaring portents for division within the party’s central leadership, a failure to foreground fresh faces and an unsubstantiated socialist rhetoric, inter alia, have come together to form, what seems to have been an insurmountable impediment for the Congress. Maharashtra and Jharkhand no longer appear as welcoming.

The Congress has thus far failed to diagnose the rot in its strategy. Its narratives involute upon themselves, constantly miscarrying with the public, and its parroting of the same old defeated stratagems now heads ad nauseam. The Haryana defeat carries with itself considerable ignominy for the Congress which has been smug in its prophecies of victory before and the natural course of the ensuing result has been invariably failure. While Congress president Kharge denies that the Maharashtra assembly elections shall be affected by the defeat, the BJP and its allies remain confident that the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra has been only further strengthened. It is implausible that the long-enduring, anti-incumbency temperament shall so suddenly flip, which leaves room to investigate what the BJP has done right during the campaigns and on-ground. 

Primarily, a deluge of rebel candidates have fractured the Congress’ vote bank, drawing from it a generous amount it could have used against BJP. The INC lost 16 seats to rebels and independents, severely weakening it against the BJP’s far more structured and organisationally sound ticket management, particularly after UP in the Lok Sabha elections. 

The following table illustrates the Congress’ losses to dissidents:

Kalka Congress lost by a margin of 11k votes (Rebel got 32k votes)
Pundri Congress came 3rd; Congress rebel got 40k votes and lost by 2k.
Rai Lost by a margin of 4.5k votes (Rebel got 12k votes)
Gohana Lost by a margin of 10k votes (Rebel got 15k votes)
Safidon Lost by a margin of 4k votes (Rebel got 29k votes)
Dadri Lost by a margin of 2k votes (Rebel got 6k votes)
Tigaon Congress came 3rd; Congress rebel got 57k votes and lost by 37k votes.
Ambala Cantt. Congress came 3rd; Congress rebel got 53k votes and lost by 7k votes.
Assandh Lost by a margin of 2k votes (Rebel got 16k votes)
Uchana Kalan Lost by 39 votes (Rebel got 32k votes)
Bhadra Lost by a margin of 7.5k votes (Rebel got 27k votes)
Mahendragarh Lost by a margin of 2k votes (Rebel got 21k votes)
Sohna Lost by a margin of 11k votes (Rebel got 70k votes)
Ballabgarh Congress came 4th; Congress rebel came 2nd, receiving 44k votes and lost by 17k votes.
Dabwali Lost by a margin of 610 votes (Rebel got 2k votes)
Rania Lost by a margin of 4k votes (Rebel got 36k votes)
Bahadurgarh Congress rebel won the seat as an independent; Congress candidate came 3rd.

Further, the Congress made no attempts to restructure its leadership. The young faces—Selja in Haryana and Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan—were conceded to the older ones, of Hooda and Gehlot respectively. The pattern makes itself manifest with an octogenarian as the party president. The BJP, on the other hand, deployed 60 fresh faces to stand against the ancient heavyweights, albeit losing ones, of the Congress. The Congress renominated 17 of its stale candidacies that had lost in the past. The 2023 state election Telangana win for the Congress, supplanting the previously incumbent Bharatia Rashtra Samiti, came in only after they took a chance with a new face – Revanth Reddy’s. 

Congress also almost consciously defined itself as a ‘one-caste party’. The Congress’ overdependence on the Jat population proved to be a fatal oversight. The BJP conquered the Congress’ meek share by consolidating the 75 percent of the non-Jat population. Congress’ implicit preference for Hooda to Selja handed to the BJP critical accusatory ammunition, allowing them to charge the Congress with anti-Dalit sentiments and a neglect for the non-Jat population. Even the Jat votes, that the Congress hoped to completely own, had to be shared with INLD, further increasing BJP’s uncontested share of the non-Jat votes.

Despite the Congress’ efforts to appeal to the OBC demographic, comprising 40 per cent of Haryana’s population, BJP’s Saini clearly won the affection of the masses. Ajay Singh Yadav, chairman of the AICC OBC Congress, himself confessed to the Congress’ disregard for the OBC belt in Haryana. The CSDS-Lokniti survey reports the strength of the OBC population in favour of the BJP. The OBC support flourished after Saini replaced Khattar as chief minister. The BJP managed to assimilate into its supporter base a “rainbow coalition” of Brahmins, Punjabi Khatris, non-Jatavs, Yadavs and SCs. The “Lakhpati Drone Ladies” project engendered a massively positive reception of the BJP’s attempts to “elevate the SCs to general status”, in the words of an ITI student from Ambala. 

The Gandhi siblings campaigned with much pomp, but rather late. The BJP’s strategy had been to counter the anti-incumbency silently and aggressively. The Congress’ work assumed tangibility too late, and in that they have not defeated the image, one needing much redressal, of the relative passivity of the party and the unattractive languor in its reactions. RaGa’s flimsy socialist narrative did not help their case with the upwardly-mobile social classes as well as the urban votes.

Analysing Congress’ trends, juxtaposed with those of the BJP, it remains a matter of irrefutable truth that the ability of the BJP to counter is what keeps its power from waning. Given the BJP’s untarnished dominance, only in terms of its claims to power and occupation of office, it is peculiar that the Congress keeps succumbing to its flippant confidence in its, in all honesty, paltry chances to overthrow the Saffron Goliath. What blights this torpid David and wherefore does he hibernate? One cannot help but nod in terror as they ponder the truth of Modi’s tirades when he warns of the “chaos” that a Congress government shall bring.

 

Read Also: Phogat’s Haryana – A changing political landscape

 

Featured Image Credits: PTI

 

Aayudh Pramanik

[email protected]

 

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The Rising Cult of Rahul Gandhi

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Scion of the oldest and most influential political dynasties of India, Rahul Gandhi, had the weight of India’s expectations on him. Despite the odds stacked against him, he has managed to rise as the leader of the opposition. His new cult status warrants a deep dive. 

 

Our story begins in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. Rahul Gandhi, who had been a “part-time politician” of sorts, was the face of Congress’s fight against Modi. RaGa was set to inherit all of India’s frustrations with the Congress party. Issues with the party’s functioning and rampant corruption stoked the embers of frustration; the rising debate against nepotism only added fuel. An India in the trenches of international PR and general morale yearned for a leader who would return her to glory. 

 

Narendra Modi, a leader of humble beginnings, was the alternative. People saw in him the promise of realising India’s potential in all matters global, economic, and internal. Faced with the charm and political prowess of the two-time Gujarat chief minister, it was to no one’s surprise that Congress suffered a crushing blow in the election. 

 

The onus then fell on Rahul to prove to the people that he could still lead a strong opposition to the government. Spoiler: He did not. His repeated political missteps proved to the people how out of touch he was with the pulse of India’s needs. Opportunities came and went, but he failed to capitalise. In the initial stages of Modi’s government, when dissent was still tolerated, protests raged across the country, yet the Congress, then virtually led by Rahul Gandhi, managed to fumble the strong buttress. 

 

Monikers and tags were being thrown around—Pakistani, terrorist, anti-national—and in this giveaway, RaGa managed to snag one for himself—hilariously and demeaningly short pappu. 

 

The meme factory worked overtime to roll out messages, videos, and WhatsApp forwards about how Congress’s Raja Beta (darling son) had proven himself to be India’s favourite jester. His incompetence was a gift that kept on giving. The Congress had created a self-feeding mechanism where they only needed to do the bare minimum before loyal Modi supporters would rush to delegitimize their accusations. 

 

But you didn’t click on this article to read a hilarious and scathing run-down of what went wrong. No, you’re here to understand what went right. 

 

Tired of the opposition’s lack of sustained dissent, the people of India decided to take it upon themselves to put up a fight. The farmer’s protest, frustrations with how the pandemic was handled, rising communal tension, and an overwhelming insecurity among the youth regarding unemployment, and the tensions in Manipur were triggers. Prime Minister Modi’s resolve to never address these issues contributed heavily. He was no longer the messianic leader from before. The people saw in him a cold, calculating, and ruthless sovereign.

 

This alienation left a cold void that Rahul Gandhi rushed, walked to fill. 

 

The Bharat Jodo Yatra was a milestone in contemporary Indian politics. Roughly 4,080 kilometres long and spanning the states of Kerala to Jammu-Kashmir, this yatra was a means for Gandhi to win the people’s confidence. Dressed as one of the masses, Rahul Gandhi cut out the middleman and delivered democracy to people’s doorsteps. In him, the public began to see a man who was willing to shed his comforts, a contrast to the Prime Minister, who after two terms in office had fashioned a soot-boot ki sarkar. To Congress’s credit, the momentum from the march was not allowed to die. A second edition of the yatra was announced, now titled the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which sought to cover Manipur to Maharashtra.

 

Despite these efforts, a scattered Congress knew that it couldn’t hope to stand against the leviathan BJP-led NDA. It sought to pack a punch with a ragtag team of estranged parties, who decided to put aside their differences to defeat the big evil. INDIA, or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, was supposed to thwart the BJP’s third consecutive term. The parties had realised (perhaps a bit too late) that their differences meant the splitting of the opposition vote. INDIA was a way to remedy that. 

 

The tea leaves foretold a possible rise to power. Against all odds, Rahul Gandhi had managed to change the public’s perception of him. The “If not Modi, then who?” question now had a clearer answer.

 

Just four months ago, the historic 2024 election results came out. BJP won just 240 seats, 32 less than the requirement for a single majority, and about 160 less than the 400 paar claim. Congress rose as an underdog and won 99 seats, officially securing its opposition status after ten years. Rahul Gandhi, the titular lead of this article, won from the Wayanad constituency and was hailed as the leader of the opposition. 

 

The two months since this drastic shift in power dynamics have not been without their share of drama. Just weeks into the new parliamentary session, Gandhi hit multiple nerves over his speeches in the house. In the maiden speech itself, he accused the BJP of misappropriating the Hindu religion and forgetting its values of ahimsa and tolerance. From the Chair of the House to the Home Minister and the big boss—the Prime Minister himself—everyone was livid. Enquiries were made and debates were launched over Gandhi’s remarks, yet he only offered a collected response, and did not fall into the semantics of it all. 

 

2024 has seen Rahul Gandhi grow into his own as a true leader worthy of consideration. Work during the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections aside, the politician now has the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in his sight. Rahul Gandhi is campaigning in the states of Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir to consolidate support and moreover, consolidate his image as the leader of opposition. Though the BJP managed to persevere through the General Elections this time, it was a pyrrhic victory at best. Gandhi, with his state election campaigns, seems to be in the mood to remind the public of that fact, to remind them that the powers that be, are not as infallible as they had seemed. 

 

In a rally in Srinagar, Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying, “…before the Lok Sabha elections, people used to say that Narendra Modi has a 56 inch chest, no one says that now. The mood of the country has changed. Earlier, he used to talk with confidence, but now the INDIA bloc has broken the psychology of PM Narendra Modi.” 

 

RaGa seems to be riding on the wave of INDIA’s show at the election, and the new-found confidence has invigorated people’s faith in him (perhaps his faith in himself too). His strategy seems to be one of recounting the injustices suffered to the people of Jammu and Kashmir; he brought up the change in status as the former state has now turned into a Union Territory. Promising to the people that should Congress be brought to power, they will prioritise the reinitiation of JnK as a state. The ploy is to make the people realise that they have an alternative, one who has the pulse of the people’s wants better than a doctor. 

 

His work in Haryana also begs notice. Rahul Gandhi extensively toured the length and breadth of the state; with over half-a-dozen rallies and road shows, he aims to prove that he can lead just as successful of a vanguard as in the Lok Sabha elections . “BJP ja rahi hai, Congress aa rahi hai” (BJP is losing, Congress is winning), was his battle cry. Mr. Gandhi in his passionate speeches never missed a chance to hit the BJP in its tightest nerve with accusations of crony capitalism and attempts to destroy the spirit of the constitution. In turn, he reiterated his party’s guarantees of  ₹2,000 monthly assistance to women and providing cooking cylinders for ₹500. 

 

The BJP called to its defence the Prime Minister himself and the ever-reliant Mr. Yogi. Never to be underestimated (recent pyrrhic victories notwithstanding), the dynamic duo is BJP’s strongest ace. It’s a strategically sound choice to bring them in when faced with such an onslaught. Though what the BJP fails to notice is that the arrival of these players grants Mr. Gandhi’s opposition more legitimacy than is good for the reigning party. The Prime Minister’s involvement is an acknowledgement of the fact that the party is insecure of its standing and wants to leave no stone unturned to gather support. 

 

We are thus at a curious point in Indian politics where a politician once scorned and mocked has made the rebound of the century and now stands between the centre and absolute power. 

 

The leading party is still just as harsh and his critics remain as is. However, the tag pappu is nowhere to be seen. Even the staunchest rival cannot begrudge him in his victory. From riches to rags, and then back to riches, Rahul Gandhi has created a cult following for the history textbooks. 

 

Read Also: Rahul Gandhi and His Changed Style of Politics 

 

Featured Image Credits: The Hindustan Gazette

 

Anvesha Tripathi

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Rahul Gandhi’s Tryst with Destiny: The Revival of the Last Gandhi

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Sorry, the old RaGa cannot come to the PressCon right now. Why? Oh, cause he’s dead. Let’s explore his journey from the Prince of Political Dynasty, to Pappu, and then Beyond.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the General Elections of 2024 was the escalated and expeditious participation from Generation Z, a large strata of whom finally got a direct vote in the election of the Government. This participation was also rooted in the Twitteratis and their constant political pundit-esque commentary that remained persistent throughout this apparent festival of democracy. From the viral “Dimple Bhabhi Hatiye…” tweet to the pookie-fication of Narendra Modi, nobody escaped the brunt of the internet folks. A leading player in the battle for the seat of prime minister was Rahul Gandhi, who displayed a staggering transformation. From him being posted to the edits of ‘Daddy’s Home‘, his subsequent babygirlification and portrayal as the Batman of Indian political scenario et.al., RaGa seemed to be a Twitter favorite; pre, midst, and post the election season. And this, comes as a surprise for someone who has long been ridiculed by both, the politicians and the masses, as ‘Pappu’.

When the National Democratic Alliance, on its third subsequent win, boasts about a new era of Modi 3.0, it is notable that this also embarks the beginning of RaGa 3.0. Something that is even more remarkable is how every epoch of his political career draws a direct parallel to the state of the current opposition in the country. In retrospect it might appear to be a vague statement, however, this opinion piece attempts to substantiate the same, and for that, the political trajectory of Rahul Gandhi needs to be analyzed in a trifactorial manner.

In a political climate that was being conditioned for Priyanka Gandhi to be the new face of the Indian National Congress, with the re-emphasization of her parallels to Indira Gandhi, the launch of Rahul Gandhi as the face of INC was a rather unanticipated change for the politicians and the masses alike. In a direct parallel to Rajneeti (the 2010 Prakash Jha Directiorial’s) Samar Pratap, played by Ranbir Kapoor, ‘a foreign returned relatively less-known to-and-of the political scenario‘ heir was placed into the position of a party supremo. However, that is where the parallels end, while Samar goes on to become a force to reckon with, RaGa displayed a relatively inconsistent political profile. His political prowess at that time focused largely upon as the ‘uniter’ of the nation, working on reducing the caste and religion-based divisiveness in the country. Subsequently, he won from the ancestral seat of Amethi and was popularised as the Yuva Neta, and harbinger of justice, by the media. However, despite this popularised imagery that he had cultivated around himself, he refused to hold positions of power within the INC and rather struck to the youth wings. The launch of RaGa drew a parallel into the INC as it witnessed a rejuvenation of the Gandhi Parivaar within the leadership positions, after 14 years of absence, albeit in an indirect mannerism with Manmohan Singh being the Prime Minister then.

Post the smooth and apparent surged political prowess, the era of Rahul Gandhi 2.0 comes into play with the elections of 2014 and beyond; the General Election of 2014, posed a drastic change in the climate of the Indian Political Scenario, wherein the 10-year streak of the INC was fiercely shattered by the National Democratic Alliance and its figurehead, present Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The dramatic downfall of the INC marked the beginning of RaGa as the undisputed King of Bloopers and the face of Indian Political Memes, the person who was hailed as the Prince of the Politically Dynastic Gandhi Parivar was now ridiculed as ‘Pappu’, and worse. The lack of a proper redressal mechanism from the INC upon the same, and RaGa’s subsequent infamous statements like the ‘potato-gold‘ alchemy theory, the hug in the parliament, misgendering of the Speaker, et.al., cemented the NDA alliances claim of the ‘Shehzada’, in attempts to mock his lack of proper developmental work despite the privilege he was equipped with. A subsequent political debacle also surrounded the Indian National Congress, as it witnessed the lowest-ever tally of 44 seats post the 206-seat mark they achieved in 2009.

Post the 2019 stint of the National Democratic Alliance, and its subsequent chants of Abki Baar, 400 Paar; the public expectation from the erstwhile political bigwig declined, and an absolute majority of the present ruling party was largely accepted and anticipated. Despite the anti-heroic downfall that the INC witnessed, he kept walking (quite literally) and conducted two Nyay Yatras, which is speculated to have become a source of connection between the common man and the INC, and the reason for its subsequent victory in certain places. His newfound oratory skills and social media tactics labeled RaGa as the herald of the change of the apparent de-Modicisation and Democratization of the country. The connection that he attempted to build at a grassroots level, and better redressal skills, led to a surge in the INDIA vote bank, and a subsequent declination in the expected votes for the NDA.

However, RaGa’s relatively newer 3.0 trajectory did not stop there, the 1st July speech in the parliament, ended the era of his silence and negligence regarding the political climate and the flaws of the NDA, as he delivered a speech outlining the very same. The Speech won him further accolades over social media, as the netizens proclaimed that the tectonics of the Indian Political Scenario witnessed a shift that day, the void of an improper Leader of Opposition seemed to be filling. This is followed by his recent visits to places that have been impacted by violence and improper governance like Manipur, Assam, site of Hathras Stampede, loco pilots of Delhi, et.al. This is a clear indication of a political consistency, which he is infamously unknown of. The transition from Pappu to the Leader of Opposition, depicts a shift in the political ball game of the country, a probable subdued indication of the resurgence of the INC, and a new arena into his political trajectory. However, it remains long to be seen whether this political conundrum turns out to be a sham, or has Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally found an able competitor.

Read Also: Saffron Politics: A Path To Majoritarianism

Featured Image Credits: X

Shikhar Pathak

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Coronavirus

Will PM CARES Provide the Needed Care?

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Since the announcement for the creation of PM CARES two things have come in abundance, funds and criticisms. So, is the fund for the good of the nation or the netas? Read on to find out.

PM Modi announced the creation of a new fund, the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund or PM-CARES Fund on March 28th. Since this announcement money has poured in from around the nation. However, in addition to money, criticisms of the fund have also been pouring in.

The main criticism directed at this fund was a question on its existence and need. The critiques say that PMNRF or Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, from whom PM Cares borrows its structure, should have been used. But before diving deeper, let us know the two funds.

What is PM-Cares Fund?

The fund was created specifically for the current pandemic. The government stated that due to the magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic, the fund has been created exclusively to fight this outbreak. Officially the fund ‘is to be used for combating, containment and relief efforts against the coronavirus outbreak and similar pandemic like situations in the future.’

Barely a week after the fund was set up, donations pledged to it have crossed over Rs 6,500 crore more than three times its counterpart PMNRF got in the years 2014-15 and 2018-19. Similar to PMNRF, PM Cares is a 100% donation based fund. In addition to this donations to the fund by corporates will be exempted under the Income Tax, 1961 and are also counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure. The officials further stated that to spend from the Consolidated Fund of India, the Parliament’s approval was required while a donation-based fund did not have any such legislative concerns.

According to the PM Cares fund website, “the Prime Minister is the ex-officio (by virtue of one’s position or status) Chairman of the Fund while the Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees (Prime Minister) shall have the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy. Any person appointed a Trustee shall act in a pro bono (work undertaken voluntarily and without payment) capacity.”

PMNRF: The Case of the CounterpartT

he Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or PMNRF was established on January 1948 by the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. The fund was established to help the people who were victims of mass migration and violence post-independence. Through the passage of time the fund evolved to help the victims of riots, floods, tsunamis, naxal attacks and the fund is also used to sponsor medical treatment of the needy. The fund was used extensively to provide support for victims of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Uttarakhand floods 2013, cyclone in Kerala and Lakshadweep, 2014 violence in Assam, Madhya Pradesh explosion 2015, Tamil Nadu floods 2015 etc.

The PMNRF, before 1985 was a trust consisting of the following people in its board:

  1. Prime Minister
  2. Deputy Prime Minister
  3. President of the Indian National Congress
  4. Finance Minister
  5. A representative of the Tata Trustees
  6. A member of industry and commerce, as decided by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

However, after the year 1985, this structure of the fund was changed by the Rajiv Gandhi government. The fund has since been functioning under the discretion and directions of the prime minister. According to the information provided by the fund, the prime minister is the secretary of the fund, assisted by a joint-secretary and an officer of the rank of director, all on an honorary basis. In short the PM has sole discretion over its use.

The Concerns

Several people including political parties like the Indian National Congress, Shiv Sena, and Trinamool Congress. Etc. have raised concerns related to this fund. The first concern is the need for a new fund when one, i.e. PMNRF, already exists. To this concern the government officials stated that PM Cares was established exclusively for fighting the pandemic due to its magnitude and PMNRF fund has not been closed but still remains very much functional.

Secondly, the auditing of the fund by independent auditors and not the CAG raised many eyebrows. However, both PMNRF as well as PM CARES are donation based funds and hence do not qualify for CAG auditing. Further the government has still not made the charter and other information like collection and expenditure of the fund public. In addition to this it is a valid point that the central government should have encouraged donations to state funds. As many states governments are seeing their revenue incomes dry up due to low consumption of oil as well as liquor and are hence in dire need of funds.

Various questions on the legality of the fund were also raised. However they were put to rest after the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Manohar Lal Sharma for questioning the legality of the constitution of PM CARES Fund for COVID-19.

Abhinandan Kaul, a student of St. Stephen’s College, says, ”Public participation is the key to mitigate issues facing our nation and society. PM Cares puts this very fundamental idea in action by enabling micro-donations allowing not only prominent celebrities and businessmen but also ordinary people of the country to contribute with small amounts of money too as a result of which more than 40 crore Indians have been able to send in donations. Hence in my opinion, PM cares is a very well-conceived idea for Indians to come together and fight against Covid-19!”
Akshat Singh Rathore, a student of Shri Venkateshwara College, says, “Even though I think that the government is doing commendable work battling this virus. But, the PM CARES is shady in many terms. If the government is taking donations from us then we as citizens have a right to know as to where our money goes. And if they are all clean then this shouldn’t be a problem.”
The effectiveness of this fund will come to light in coming days. But it is rather astounding that all of India came together to fight this global pandemic. The government has to answer many concerns related to fund and till then all of the nation should support their respective governments and authorities to be victorious in the battle against this wretched virus.

Featured Image Credits: PM Cares
(Arre.co.in)

Aniket Singh Chauhan

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Delhi Assembly Elections

The New Delhi Constituency: Standing Against the Current Chief Minister

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With the Delhi Assembly elections today, let’s take a look at the candidates competing against incumbent Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Chief Ministerial candidate- Arvind Kejriwal.

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s Incumbent Chief Minister, is once again the chief ministerial candidate from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting from the New Delhi constituency. The New Delhi constituency was created by the delimitation commission in 2008. Historically, it has always been the constituency, which has been held by the Chief Ministers, as Sheila Dixit represented the constituency in the 2008 Elections before Kejriwal. The New Delhi Constituency has a sizeable population of Government employees and falls in the posh localities of Delhi.

With neither Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), nor the Indian National Congress (INC), releasing the names of their chief ministerial candidates, let’s take a look at the candidates competing from the New Delhi Constituency.

Sunil Yadav (BJP)

Sunil Yadav is an advocate by profession. Yadav started his political career as a Party’s Yuva Morcha. He currently holds the President’s Office of Yuva Morcha, Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi (BJYM Delhi). He is the former Secretary of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. While it was rumoured for him to get a ticket in the 2013 and 2015 Elections, this is Yadav’s first time contesting as a candidate.

Talking about the focus on national issues in the BJP manifesto over local issues, Sunil Yadav, said to theIndian Express, that he was fighting the election on local agenda. “I am talking about people living in clusters in my constituency. I am talking about their water and electricity bills.” He also claims, he is confident of a victory with a margin of 25,000 votes.

Romesh Sabharwal (INC)

Romesh Sabharwal is a former Student Leader, who has been associated with the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and the Youth Congress three decades back. He was the President of NSUI Delhi State. This is Sabharwal’s first time contesting as a candidate.

He also claims that he is confident to beat Arvind Kejriwal. “He may be the CM of Delhi, but I am a local, as a Government servant and an honest taxpayer who understands the needs of the residents of the constituency,” Romesh Sabharwal told India Today.

Arvind Kejriwal (AAP)

Arvind Kejriwal joined politics formally in 2012, when he launched the Aam Aadmi Party. Before joining politics, Kejriwal worked in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) as a Joint Commissioner, Income Tax in New Delhi. He is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering, from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

In 2006, Kejriwal was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in recognition of his involvement in the grassroots level movement Parivartan, using Right to Information legislation, in a campaign against corruption, post which he resigned from the Government Service. He has also been monumental in leading the Jan Lokpal Anti- Corruption movement, along with Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi, in 2011.

Following the 2013 Delhi Assembly Elections, Arvind Kejriwal first took office as the Chief Minister of Delhi, in December 2013. However, in February 2014, he resigned due to his minority Government’s inability to pass his proposed anti-corruption legislation pertaining to lack of support from other political parties. In the 2015 Delhi Assembly Elections, the Aam Aadmi Party won 67 out of the 70 seats in Delhi, securing Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Ministerial Office again.

Both BJP and INC have pitched first- time candidates against Kejriwal in these elections.

Feature Image Credits: Outlook

Satviki Sanjay

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Delhi Assembly Elections

Money-Ball: Economic Impact of Delhi Assembly Elections

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With the Delhi Assembly Elections today, we take a look at elections from an economic point of view, focusing on the money spent by candidates on political campaigning.

“For fifty years, we have been trained to believe that elections are a matter of life and death,” sternly opined Asaduddin Owaisi, a veteran Lok Sabha Legislator, in an informal interview with ScoopWhoop Unscripted, a month before the National Elections last year.

Though Mr Owaisi might have taken a few hyperbolic liberties while making this particular statement, one cannot deny the fact that elections are extremely significant moments in time in the history of any democracy, impacting the Nationwide dynamic and Government policies for the next few years, as well as fulfilling the political aspirations of successful candidates, and collapsing those of unsuccessful ones.

Every election sees the birth of a future leader or the rise of an existing one. Once in a while, more so in recent years, it also sees the fall of a stalwart. With such a prominent amount of reputation and power at stake, candidates standing in elections leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the majority of voters press their symbol on the ballot, spending enormous amounts of time and funds on election campaigning.

India’s Lok Sabha Elections in 2019 were deemed to be one of the world’s most expensive elections with an estimate of over INR 50,000 crores spent on electoral campaigning by parties and candidates across the Country. According to a study by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS), India’s election expenditure has risen six times since 1998, with the majority of the amount being spent on publicity campaigns. Costs include money spent on roadshows, billboard advertisements, television advertisements, social media campaigns, constituency tours, rallies, and music videos to name a few.

In fact, in the run-up to the 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections, the AAP Government introduced numerous freebies in the form of subsidies in electricity charges, free bus rides for women and removal of development fees for new water connections. The opposition leaders in the State questioned the economic viability of these recent freebies.

Besides these costs, parties also resort to illegitimate means of attracting votes, with reports of candidates distributing cash, clothes, land, smartphones and sometimes even alcohol to voters. The CMS study reports that around INR 15,000 crores in cash were distributed among voters in the 2019 National Elections.

This leads us to one question. Is all the money worth it?

It is no rocket science that, what matters is the appeal and reputation of the candidate, not the amount of money spent by the candidate and that on an average, a candidate with a favourable image shall garner a significant amount of votes regardless of the money spent by him/her.

The answer to this question exists in contrast. While the kindness of the world would have us believe that money does not matter, yet experience says otherwise.

Out of the humongous INR 50,000 crores spent in the Lok Sabha Elections last year, almost half of the costs were incurred by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who won by a comprehensive margin. But would a less expensive campaign have given them a less favourable result? We shall not know as long as there is not a detailed analysis of Indian elections and voting practices. But what we know is that as long as the voters of this country do not fall prey to political gimmicks and publicity campaigns, and instead decide to press a particular symbol on a ballot based on a thorough review of the candidate’s performance in the last five years, the essence of democracy and integrity shall remain intact.

Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, will be a test of heavy campaigning versus ideology. It will also answer many questions regarding the future discourse of Delhi and the political discourse of the Country. The current Chief Minister (CM), Arvind Kejriwal, won a ravishing majority in the past elections despite heavy campaigning by BJP. However, a new wave of social media campaigning, tremendous on- ground marketing had engulfed the Lok Sabha Elections. This wave might drown the Delhi Elections as well.

Feature Image Credits: The Statesman

Araba Kongbam

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Campus Central

Miranda House Hosts India Today’s Campus Face-off

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On 17th January 2020, Miranda House hosted India Today’s Campus Face-off, which took a controversial turn after some students started protesting.

On 17th January 2020, India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai and Aaj Tak’s Anjana Om Kashyap came to Miranda House for an edition of their show Campus Face-off. Campus Face-off is a special program where the anchors invite speakers from major parties, who debate and are questioned by the student audience. In Miranda House, they invited representatives from the three major parties of Delhi- Charu Pragya,  Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Radhika Khera, Indian National Congress (INC) and Atishi Marlena, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The anchors, Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai and Ms. Anjana Om Kashyap, conducted an informal session for 30 minutes before the taping, while waiting for the representatives of the parties to arrive. The anchors were asked questions on the current political scenario. When asked about the pressure on media, Ms. Kashyap replied, “Everybody’s perception of how news is being presented is different. We’ve become a very politically polarized country right now.” Rajdeep Sardesai also used this time to promote his new book How Modi Won India in 2019.

While the debate was to be on the issue of “Women Safety, Judgement on Nirbhaya Case, and other issues” in the face of upcoming elections, the panelists also discussed various other issues too, such as Kashmir, the violence in student campuses, economy and unemployment, and the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act-National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Mid-taping, a group of students stood up in the top-left corner of the room, and started silently protesting by holding up posters questioning police brutality, CAA-NRC, internet shutdowns, state of Kashmir, and such ongoing issues. The protestors, who were silent initially, started chanting, “Shame, Shame, Shame” on a comment made by the BJP representative denying the existence of the NRC. When the protestors began sloganeering, Mr. Sardesai asked them to come to the podium, and express themselves. The students expressed their discomfort at the suggestion saying that they stood as a collective, and asking one of them to represent them all would make that representative vulnerable to being targeted.

The protestors then moved to the centre of the room, near the podium, and began sloganeering again. A Kashmiri student then took to the podium and addressed the crowd in a very emotionally charged speech. “Do you know what is AFSPA? What about it’s victims? We are raped. Understand this…  I am not against them (pointing to the panelists). I am against you all (pointing to the crowd). Shame on you… Fuck you. Fuck you sir. Fuck you three also.”

At this, Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai asked them to be removed from the taping, “Madam, you are allowed to speak your views, but you cannot hijack the program.” The Congress representative, then, came and stood with the protesting students.

“The face-off that took place yesterday at the Campus darkened the face of any form of dissent, dialogue, and debate that Miranda has known in the history of its existence. Yes, the anchors allowed questions, but what they also did was make the entire engagement futile…  In the midst of it all, what actually suffered a setback was the culture of radical politics that Miranda prides itself on. The complacency, privilege and comfortable applause of the audiences stood out. The very audience that shamed and policed the tones of the voices of dissent in Miranda, never once questioned the nature of the ongoing debate and their lack of discussion on issues of the marginalized communities. The ones that gathered spine enough to register their protest on a platform as major as this have been let down. The culture of Miranda hangs its head in shame and silence. To begin with, it never was inclusive and ‘woke’ enough to accommodate the marginalized,” said a statement released by the Instagram handle, @mh_studentscollective.


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What went wrong when India Today came to campus: A trajectory of events.

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Anshula, a student present at the taping, said “ Rajdeep Sir, according to me, handled it professionally and asked them to protest silently if they want to. He asked them not to hijack the mic, saying there were other people also waiting to raise their concerns. I, too, support the cause, but feel like they could have used the platform better. They raised valid concerns and questions which are important to all of us, but using foul language invalidates the cause.”

The taping went on for more than two hours and ended around six in the evening.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Satviki Sanjay

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No Congress Supported Candidate for DUTA President Post

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No candidate supported by the Indian National Congress is contesting elections this time for the post of Delhi University Teachers’ Association’s President.

For the upcoming Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA) Elections for the year 2019-2021, no candidate supported by the Indian National Congress is standing up for the post of President. Senior Congress leader, Kiran Walia said that the party didn’t want to divide secular forces and so chose to keep away from the DUTA polls.

Mr. Ashwini Shankar, the Chairperson of Indian National Teachers’ Congress (INTEC), the official Congress teachers group at the University of Delhi also commented on the issue. He said, “With the country in such turmoil, we wanted to put our best foot forward. Academics for Action and Development support our ideology and so this time we have decided to join our forces and support their candidate, Aditya Narayan Misra. He is a strong candidate and we have faith in him.”

The INTEC has, however, put up three candidates for the 15-member Executive Council. Walia, with full confidence said, “We have fielded three EC candidates and all three are likely to win.” These candidates are Vivek Chaudhary, sitting secretary in DUTA, Udayvir, a teacher of Electronics at Acharya Narendra Dev College, and Pradeep Kumar, History teacher at Zakir Husain College. She said that she does not believe that the ideology of the Congress party has lost its relevance in the University campus as a result of the recent Lok Sabha and State Elections.

Rasal Singh, member of the Academic Council, however, believes that the result of the DUTA Elections will reflect on the upcoming Assembly Elections. “The Modi factor will impact this election too and the outcome will impact the Assembly elections as the DUTA election reflects the mood of the intellectuals.”

The DUTA Elections 2019-2021 are going to be held on 29th August 2019, and the votes will be counted on the same day.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Wire

Juhi Bhargava

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NSUI to Pay First-Year Fee of Children of Slain Soldiers and Farmers

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NSUI’s offer to bear expenses, expressed in a press release made by NSUI on 19th June, was made on the occasion of the birthday of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

The student wing of the Congress, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), has decided on a move to pay the first-year fees of the children of late soldiers and farmers who are taking admission in the University of Delhi. The offer, expressed in a press release made by NSUI on 19th June, was made on the birth anniversary of Congress President, Rahul Gandhi.

“NSUI has made a plan to take an important step to serve the families of the Army on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Congress President Rahul Gandhi Ji. NSUI wants to help and provide services to the children of the family of martyred army, security force [sic]. For this, NSUI wants to pay one year fee for the children of martyrs who are going to take admission in Delhi University this year,” the press release stated.

Calling out the “unfortunate and painful” manner in which the army had been “politicized” by “all the parties” in the “past few days,” the press release said that the NSUI was “standing in every way with the families of those soldiers.”

The press release further said, “The National Student’s Union of India [sic] is also standing with the families of the farmers, who had to commit suicide due to non-payment of loans to the banks. NSUI also wants to pay fees of the children of those farmers.”

The process for the same requires students to register on the email [email protected], following which the National Committee of the NSUI will verify the students’ details.

NSUI National President Neeraj Kundan was quoted by ANI as saying that the party will reimburse the students’ fee in case they had already submitted it to the University, while also adding that the programme “reverberated” Rahul Gandhi’s thinking.

When asked about whether the decision was taken in view of the student polls, Kundan was quoted as saying that the organisation wanted to forward it’s leader, Rahul Gandhi’s ideas instead of just cutting a cake on the occasion of his birthday.

DU Beat tried contacting Saimon Farooqui, the National Secretary of NSUI for a comment, but he was not immediately available.

In our view, while no political move can be separated from the idea of seeking votes or at least, acquiring votes as a byproduct of even a desirable move, political parties often act in subtle ways to expand their reach over the masses. While it is not clear what kind of information will be sought by the NSUI for the programme in question here, a reasonable expectation would be that information such as mobile numbers and other contact details will not be used by the party to reach out to the registrants – such that it does not become a political tool. But voting for a party as per one’s own judgement is, of course, a right available to all.

Feature Image Credits: ANI

Prateek Pankaj

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The Battle of State Thrones: The case of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and others

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On 11th March, the results of the state assemblies in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur were declared. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be forming a government in 4 out 5 states, as they celebrated a massive ride to victory in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

The BJP rode a Modi super-wave to a massive victory in Uttar Pradesh, winning 312 of the state’s 403 seats, whereas its allies have won 13 seats for a grand total of 325. The Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress’ great loss was a shock to the whole nation as the Samajwadi Party, under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav maintained a strong foothold over the masses in UP. Most people have remarked that the UP elections is an indication towards the death of electoral politics in the state, however it may also be seen as a resurgence wherein the electorate has finally moved away from casteist party politics.

In Manipur, amid the BJP claiming support of 32 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam on Sunday said: the Congress, being the single largest party, must be allowed first to form the government. Flanked by NPP and LJP leaders and their winning candidates, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav told a press conference in Imphal, “We have been able to come to an understanding with the NPP and the Lok Janshakti Party in our bid to form the government in Manipur.”

The Congress has its big win in Punjab, as they won 77 of 117 seats. This win is a breath of fresh air for Congress which has been coping with a drop in their credibility, as they have performed rather poorly in other state elections.

The Goa election results that were declared threw up a hung assembly in the state with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 13 seats and the Congress 17 in the 40-member assembly. The BJP however pulled off a coup by enlisting the support of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and two Independents, to reach the figure of 21 in the 40-member house. A government led by Manohar Parrikar, former Defense Minister, is now leading Goa.

Featured image Credits: NDTV

Joyee Bhattacharya

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