The verdict
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: June 05, 2024 -

At long last, the verdict given by the people through their secret ballots in the 18th Lok Sabha election is out.

Even though the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has crossed the half way mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha for continuation in power, the verdict of the people defying the predictions made by numerous exit poll surveys must have caught everyone, including leaders of the political parties in power, by surprise.

Almost all exit poll surveys had unanimously projected a decisive majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to ensure a third term in office for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, the predictions made by these exit polls for the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) and its Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc were restricted to only 120-150 seats.

Thus, the leaders of Indian National Congress (INC) and its allies outrightly rejected the exit poll predictions, calling them 'fake' and 'Modi media poll' and asserted confidence of winning at least 295 seats for forming the new government.

With the results of the 18th Lok Sabha elections out, it is becoming clear that instead of the INDIA bloc, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which has been restricted to 290 seats.

This is way off the mark of the slogan of "ab ki baar 400 paar' for the NDA, with BJP alone winning at least 370 seats, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had declared confidently on the floor of Indian Parliament well ahead of the announcement of election schedules by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16 last.

So, even as the motive of the organisations and individuals responsible for conducting these exit polls in coming up with predictions which are in tune with the declaration made by the Prime Minister is being questioned, no one should forget the fact that election in a democracy is to be fought on real issues affecting life of the people and not on promises, which have no guarantee of fulfilment after the election.

Talking of the verdict to the 18th Lok Sabha election, voters in the strife-torn Manipur have given their mandate to the Indian National Congress (INC) by electing candidates pf the main opposition from both the Inner and Outer Manipur parliamentary constituencies.

Among the six candidates in fray for the Inner Manipur seat, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam of INC has emerged victorious with a margin of over 1,08,461 votes to humble Th Basanta Kumar of BJP, who could get only 2,62,217 votes with Maheshwar Thounaojam of RPI (Athawale) coming in the third place.

Similarly, of the four candidates who contested the election from the reserved Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, Alfred Kanngam S Arthur of INC has given K Timothy Zimik of NPF a humiliating drubbing with a vote margin of over 82,629.

Considering the circumstances in which the election to the 18th Lok Sabha had been conducted in Manipur, the success of INC is a no mean achievement.

Apart from both the INC candidates facing repeated firing attacks during the course of their election campaigning, wide spread violence and the kind of brute force used by both unknown and known armed miscreants without any restraint or fear of reprisal not just to intimidate the voters but also to deprive them of their constitutional right to elect representatives of their choice on the day of polling was unprecedented in the democratic history of Manipur.

So, not just the grit and determination of the two INC candidates but also of their supporters not to cow down to forces inimical to democratic principles need to be saluted.

No one should forget the fact that democracy is all about public participation in the governance through their elected representatives and fulfilling the public aspirations in turn by the elected representatives.

As such, the results of 18th Lok Sabha election could be seen a resounding verdict of the people against the sheer arrogance of those in power who have come to live under the impression that they could do anything and people would not be able to do anything.