A long drawn election schedule, the longest perhaps, has given rise to never- ending speculations and poll predictions doing little good to democracy and democratic practices.
The social media is full of these on both sides of the political divide, driving voters mad. If the ruling BJP/NDA is never tired of projecting a massive victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi (with seats upward of 350 for BJP alone and an overall tally of 400 plus for the NDA), the INDIA alliance and its supporters have begun to talk of ways to ensure smooth transfer of power after June 2. For them, the BJP tally is lower than 200 seats in the new Lok Sabha as a best case scenario and below 150 as its worst.
It now transpires that both sides have unleashed a calculated war in the social media whose accountability is nil for whatever it puts out unless it transgresses election commission guidelines. Gone are the days of mainstream media which, once upon a time, played key role in setting the agenda apart from informing voters of the ground situation in terms of strength and weaknesses of the contesting parties and their candidates. The mainline media carries on its job as usual , though, realizing that the social media has overtaken it for reach and influence on voters.
The effect of a lengthy election schedule, in which voting alone is spread over a month and more in seven phase polling, is that the public meetings are losing their sheen and principal speakers their plot. They have to invent new issues to keep the voters engaged. Consider how no less than the Prime Minister has contradicted himself on sensitive issues. Even the Congress President two days ago went overboard promising what was never mentioned in the party manifesto ( 10 kg of free ration as against 5 kg per person by the present government).
These are the result of campaign fatigue as the leaders have finished talking about issues they primarily espoused.
There are many in both sides who feel that had the election been conducted within , say, a fortnight , the situation may have been different. A senior ruling party leader is credited with the view that shorter election schedule would have helped the BJP. He points out how the party was way ahead of the Opposition before the campaigning began. The narrative changed to its apparent disadvantage after the first two phases of polling. The party reportedly tried stopping it but he says without success. Will the ruling party continue its slide? That is the question, according to him.
The Rahul Gandhi camp or the INDIA front partners are putting their best foot forward looking for prospects beyond measure. Discussing transfer of power in private and whatsapp groups is an indication of their soaring hope.
It is an election, the political parties, particularly the ruling one, may be loath to remember long after the results are out early next month. So, is the longest ever election schedule becoming Achilles’ heel for the ruling party? The jury is still out.
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