Daily Times

The results of the 2024 elections did not turn out so well for Modi, who had hoped to win by stoking Hindu extremism. However, these elections indicate that a large portion of Hindu voters in India have awakened.

Modi had relied heavily on Hindu voters, believing that they would vote for him exclusively. Yet, in these elections, Hindu voters have disfigured the face of the political leader who claimed to be their deity. Voices against Modi are now emerging from within India, voices that no one dared to speak against out of fear.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remarked shortly before the election results that no other person sitting in the Prime Minister’s chair had used such vile and destructive language as Modi. After ten years in office, Modi’s speeches were filled with venom against Muslims.

In his campaign speeches, instead of highlighting his political achievements, Modi’s talks frequently mentioned words like fish, Mughals, Muslims, Muslim League, and Mangalsutra. Any discerning Indian voter could detest Modi’s poisonous rhetoric, and the election results show that many did indeed become repulsed by Modi’s speeches and actions.

The worst blow for Modi came with the name of Ram. Modi inaugurated the Ram Temple at the site of the Babri Mosque to woo Hindu voters, but they were still not satisfied, and Modi faced defeat in Ayodhya.

Akhilesh Yadav accused that ordinary and poor Hindu voters were angry because government land was seized from poor Hindus in Ayodhya to build the Ram Temple, just to please extremists. This anger was expressed in the elections. According to Akhilesh Yadav, the awakened Hindu saw that small shopkeepers in Ayodhya and priests of all temples were starving, while prominent BJP leaders bought land cheaply and sold it to the Ram Temple Trust for millions, making huge profits. The awakened Hindu, saddened by this plunder in the name of Ram, expressed their anger.

It is said in India that there was such suffocation that no outlet for air was visible, but these election results have not only shown that outlet but have also provided hope for breathing, indicating that Modi is not invincible.

If any Indian leader has played a role in challenging Modi, it is Rahul Gandhi.

It would not be wrong to say that Rahul Gandhi is the only leader who openly fought against the RSS and Prime Minister Modi. Rahul Gandhi’s popularity increased as he began raising public issues and speaking out against capitalists. The BJP also played a significant role in improving his image, as their complaint led to his disqualification from Parliament and forced him to vacate his official residence.

Then, his disqualification from Parliament was linked to speaking against Adani, shedding light on the Modi-Adani nexus, which I have previously highlighted.

Rahul then began uniting all opposition political parties under the name INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). He not only formed this alliance but also gave all political parties a big heart and prioritized their leaders over Congress workers.

Moreover, Congress allied with its biggest rival, the Aam Aadmi Party, demonstrating Rahul Gandhi’s magnanimity.

As Rahul Gandhi’s positive image was established, he chose election issues focusing on inflation and unemployment but also raised the issue of protecting the constitution to unite Dalits, Muslims, and the poor, making it his hallmark to show the constitution’s copy at his rallies. Throughout this process, he targeted both Prime Minister Modi and the RSS with equal intensity.

Modi had sought an anti-Muslim mandate from his voters. He instilled fear by claiming that the opposition party Congress would seize their properties and resources and distribute them among Muslims. The BJP not getting a clear majority indicates that the common Indian no longer accepts this politics of hatred.

In a multi-religious and multi-cultural country like India, the idea of isolating followers of one religion and uniting against them with Hindu extremism has been rejected by the Indian public after ten years of majority Hindutva rule, as shown by these election results. Modi turned his election campaign into a hate campaign against Muslims and claimed that the opposition was anti-Hindu. The BJP not getting a clear majority indicates that their politics of hatred won’t last long.

Modi portrayed himself as a deity and an emperor, making grand claims, but the people of India have clearly decided that they do not want an emperor as their Prime Minister. Efforts were made to convince the public that Modi was avenging the oppression of the Mughals and that for the first time, Hindu rule was being established in India.

This election campaign was entirely driven by this Hindutva appeal. By denying the BJP a clear majority, the public has rejected this appeal.

Modi portrays himself as a democratic leader, but before the elections, government agencies forcibly withdrew money from the accounts of the opposition’s largest party, Congress, and later sealed their bank accounts.

The Chief Ministers of Jharkhand and Delhi were arrested, and raids were conducted on several opposition leaders, and cases were registered against them, showing that Modi was panicked and bent on crushing everyone in his path. On the other hand, Modi repeatedly boasted about being the fifth-largest economy in the world, but the ground realities were contrary. Common Hindu youths complained that the Modi government ruined their lives by showing them the dream of a Hindu nation, leaving them with no jobs or opportunities. Many young people saw that Modi was using rhetoric and hatred against Muslims to hide his incompetence.

A large number of young people campaigned to remove this government, and the common Indian voter has surely driven the first nail into Modi’s coffin by thwarting the BJP’s plan to win 400 seats.