Electoral scene

Dangerous signs for Democracy? Why Prof Ashutosh Varshney is worried over UP assembly elections results !  https://youtu.be/f1u_x_r5jao?t=107 13 Mar 2022  

यूपी का चुनाव । क्या है संकेत ? लोकतंत्र की जीत या संविधान को ख़तरा ? क्या है अल्पसंख्यक तबके के लिये संकेत ? वाजपेयी और मोदी में क्या है फ़र्क़ ? योगी के दुबारा चुने जाने का अर्थ ? आशुतोष ने अमेरिका में ब्राउन विश्वविद्यालय के मशहूर प्रो आशुतोष वार्ष्णेय से यूपी चुनाव के नतीजों पर बात की !

Electoral democracy vs constitutional democracy: Post-poll  Ashutosh Varshney 12th March 2022 lessons  https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/electoral-democracy-vs-constitutional-democracy-post-poll-lessons-7815935/ writes: Though minority rights are enshrined in India’s Constitution, election victories can now be used to create laws, or government policies that begin to attack precisely those rights.

Jinnah used to say Muslims woul dnot be secure in a Hindu dominated India and therefore a Pakistan was needed. The argument was wrong for nearly seven decades after independence. It is now begining to acquire a ring of truth. But democrati truths are fundamentally open-ended. Political struggles can alter them.. 

Five takeaways from UP—Modi’s better than Vajpayee and Congress wasted trump card Priyanka  DILIP MANDAL 11 March, 2022  https://theprint.in/opinion/five-takeaways-from-up-modis-better-than-vajpayee-and-congress-wasted-trump-card-priyanka/867951/ 
Muslim vote can make the Samajwadi Party principal opposition force in UP. But to win, it has to build better rapport with the other backward castes and SCs.

BJP is system-defining party Indian politics has gone through a paradigm shift and that change is here to stay even if the party loses one or two elections.

AAP is threat to Congress . The most crucial test for the AAP will be the Gujarat assembly elections later this year 

Congress and its leadership woes. The party has lost both its ideological differentiators and organisational base. It is not in a position to elect a full-time president and is not going for intra party elections. 2022-23 will be a year of opportunity for the party, provided it ramps up its machinery and performs well in Gujarat and Karnataka

the BSP also lost its ideological differentiator? The party has put too much emphasis on building bridges with the Brahmins and this strategy, though quite effective during SP-BSP duet, is not working ever since the community shifted towards the BJP.

Samajwadis and the Muslim question. he Muslim vote can keep a party relevant. It can make the SP principal opposition party. But it has to build better rapport with the other backward castes and Scheduled Castes.

Accept 4 truths to counter BJP hegemony. They offer a formula to reclaim republic in 2024  YOGENDRA YADAV 11 March, 2022  https://theprint.in/opinion/road-to-2024-was-always-tough-it-got-tougher-and-bleaker-after-the-assembly-elections/868930/ 
The BJP may enjoy ideological dominance today, but counter-hegemonic politics has deeper cultural resources. If we are determined and intelligent, we shall win.

First,  It is not just the contesting parties that were defeated in this election...We all had stakes in this election. We, who believed in the idea of a democratic republic..We have been defeated.

Second.. We are dealing with a hegemonic power.  This political dominance is backed by an unprecedented use of state power and street power, enough to bend all institutions and silence most voices of dissent. Above all, there is an ideological and cultural acceptance. The BJP has managed to hijack the key cultural resources of politics in India: nationalism, Hinduism and our cultural heritage. 

The third truth is that there is no readymade alternative. As it stands today, the Congress party can hardly lay claims to being the natural alternative.  The regional alternatives work in some regions, but not in the Hindi heartland. And they are not scalable..The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is certainly more scalable than other regional parties... It has to prove its governance claims in a normal state that is revenue deficit, demonstrate an understanding of agrarian policy and show that it is not run from Dilli darbar that is anathema to Punjabis. Above all, it needs to prove its secular credentials and show that it is a counter hegemonic force

The fourth truth is positive: we are not without potential for alternatives. The BJP may enjoy ideological dominance today, but counter-hegemonic politics has deeper cultural resources. We have with us the heritage of our civilisation, the legacy of our national movement and the Constitution of India.

These four truths of contemporary Indian politics yield a sutra about counter-hegemonic politics: satta se sangharsh, samaj se samvad (resistance to power, dialogue with the people).

"करोड़ों की खरीद फरोख्‍त पर कुछ नहीं": चुनाव आयोग के कामकाज पर Yogendra Yadav ने उठाए सवाल  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBYXTjKGfPU Mar 10, 2022

Assembly Election 2022: राजनीतिक विश्‍लेषक योगेंद्र यादव (Yogendra Yadav) ने चुनाव आयोग के कामकाज पर सवाल खड़े किए हैं. योगेंद्र यादव ने कहा कि जिन चीजों को इलेक्‍शन कमीशन को कंट्रोल करना चाहिए, वो नहीं कर रहे हैं. उन्‍होंने कहा कि करोड़ों की खरीद-फरोख्‍त पर कुछ नहीं हो रहा है.