Size doesn’t matter. Only 49 seats are likely to go to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, but these will also determine his headlines when the results are declared on June 4. . For those looking for pure statistics, of the 49 seats on which voting will take place, 39 of them will be held by his NDA and 8 by the Indian bloc.
But beyond the calculations, there are many decisions to be made at this stage. Each of these answers the most important questions related to the election.
Is Hindutva still the dominant organizing principle of Indian politics? Is Gandhi still politically influential? Is the TMC’s appeal now limited to Muslim-majority seats in Bengal only? Who is the true heir to Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy? And in the context of another Nawab, Lalu Prasad Yadav, will the eternal social justice ‘activist’ be able to establish influence beyond the social base to limit the NDA’s hold on Bihar? ?
First, the BJP’s dubious hobbyhorses Ram and Hindutva will be severely tested. Voters in the fifth phase will vote in Faizabad, which includes Ayodhya constituency. Here Ram Lalla’s idol ‘Pran Pratishtha’ took place on his January 22, just 15 weeks ago.
In Faizabad and its surrounding constituencies, including Lucknow, which has long been touted as the political gateway to Delhi, the opposition has chosen to make this election a clash of “ram and ration”. The word “rationing” refers to the allegedly humiliating and dependency-creating SOP that opponents say the Bharatiya Janata Party has provided to the poor instead of strengthening economic prospects that were promised but unfulfilled. It’s a metaphor.
However, the BJP does not agree to this. The company believes that the combination of “Rum and Ration” meets more than just material needs. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always reminded us, the newly inaugurated Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir is a bridge between Indians struggling for identity and their civilizational roots.
The BJP has always believed that its overwhelming support for the temple-building movement is a legitimate expression of the majority of Indians. Especially disillusioned Hindus who are trying to break out of the oppressive straitjacket imposed on them by Jawaharlal Nehru and his supposedly rootless Anglicized Congress ecosystem. The soul of Hindu civilization in India was shattered by the Knights Templar, a Westernized elite who saw any legitimate appreciation of the greatness of Hindu civilization as anti-secular and especially anti-Islamic.
Voters will now pass judgment on this paper of the BJP-RSS. At this stage, the Bharatiya Janata Party would feel particularly vindicated if voters defeated Rahul Gandhi, Nehru’s grandson and heir to Nehruvian secularism. Gandhi is contesting from Raebareli, a safe seat vacated by his mother.
In Maharashtra, which sends the second largest contingent of MPs after Uttar Pradesh, the late Shiv Sena of Bal Thackeray, the true testament of Hindu Friday Samrat. A war is being waged to confirm the name. The icon’s son Uddhav Thackeray is in an existential battle with Eknath Shinde, the rebel who split the original party. In more than a third of the 13 constituencies, mostly in Mumbai and surrounding areas, the two rival factions of the Sena will go head-to-head to establish their legitimacy in public life.
In Bengal, seven important constituencies will see fierce contests between the BJP and TMC. Currently, the TMC has a one-seat advantage over her BJP. However, the saffron party has pulled the CAA card out of its sleeve which could change the situation at a time when Mamata Banerjee needs to ensure she has Hindu voters.
In Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s second daughter is running for her first parliamentary election. Rohini Acharya is tasked with retaining Saran constituency, which was her father’s stronghold. Will she be able to become the third Yadav to successfully carry on his legacy?
