Rajesh Ranjan's Weblog

One outstanding feature of the May 2014 general elections for the Sixteenth Lok Sabha of India was the appeal to ‘first time voters’ specifically made by Mr Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The result is known and Mr Modi is the Prime Minister of India now for over two months.

This appeal holds very important place in viewing the mandate BJP and Mr Modi got from the Indian electorate. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP managed 336 seats out of a total of 543 seats. BJP got a simple majority of 282 seats on its own. It was after around 30 years that a party got majority in Lok Sabha election to lead the government at Centre without the need for depending on coalition partners. The tremendous hope generated among the common people of India though poses great challenge to the government, in general and the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, in particular.

However, I would not be discussing the government and its functioning any further. The focus would instead be on chronicling two events, two generations and two mandates which led India to usher in respective new eras.

First event belongs to the 1975-77 period, which is the time when there was ‘Emergency’ in the country imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi, then PM. There are various accounts available on the horrors committed during the period and how the government changed in the post-Emergency elections held in 1977. Congress party suffered first historical defeat in these elections and Janata Party formed the government with Mr Morarji Desai as PM.

Indians born in post-Emergency India became ‘first time voters’ in 1993 after attaining the age of 18* and the first opportunity they got was in 1996 to cast their votes in the general Lok Sabha elections. This result was historic and BJP became the single largest party and Congress stood second. Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee became PM for famous 13 days and subsequently a United Front government was formed with Mr H D Deve Gowda as the PM of the alliance led by the Janata Dal.

Another event belongs to 1990-1992 period, which was no less a mass movement than the one India witnessed, prior to and during the Emergency. This movement was to construct a Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir (RJM) at a disputed place where Babri Majsid (BM) was in place. A vast majority of believer Hindus were asserting (and continue to do so even now) that the disputed place is basically the birth place of Lord Ram (revered as an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu). The movement culminated into the demolition of the ‘disputed’ structure in December 1992. The matter is still sub judice in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India over the ownership of the land.

It is underlined here that the Indians born in post-RJM movement India became ‘first time voters’ only in 2011 and got the first opportunity to cast their votes in the general Lok Sabha elections of 2014. The result, as discussed earlier, was landmark in the way a non-Congress opposition party i.e., BJP got the full majority and Congress got reduced to 44 seats and may not even get status of the ‘official’ Opposition party. Mr Modi became the Prime Minister and is the first one born after Independence to rise to this position.

The two events and the two generations that follow them have made a huge impact in shaping up polity in Indian democratic history. Two different generations giving similar mandates may turn out to be hallmark of the Indian electoral democracy. The need is to embark on a new journey for a better India considering the popular slogan by the PM Modi: “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” meaning “Together with all, Development for all”. India and Indians must accept this vision wholeheartedly and ensure that it reverberates in every sphere of Indianness.

I stop here and leave the dissection of the events and their aftermath to the experts.

[*The Sixty-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988, lowered the voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States from 21 years to 18 years.]