The State Election Results and Analysis
By: Amit Bhushan Date: 23rd Dec. 2019
There are 3-4 important take-aways from the electoral results in the state that the news media analysis would miss to convey, however these may continue to influence and define our polity (whosoever forms the government). Though this has been so for quite some time however our understanding regarding these issues remain shallow and much of this is owing to these items receiving little coverage in the news media. In the ‘Game Yug’, it has just risen in importance considering televised influencing as well as via the ‘social media’ is on rise and has gained in acceptability in spite of all the bad word by each of these media regards one another. What’s re-assuring is that even the non-ruling parties have taken to ‘social media’ in a big way and can now use it to ‘run’ an agenda, which was hitherto limited as the current ruling party had an upper-hand in leveraging of the platform. And this loss of advantage has happened in spite of changed regulations that may have affected only the independent activists on social media who can no longer be as loud (as earlier) and impacted ‘national discourse’. One of the reading of public from the electoral outcome would be that when left to themselves polity would keep its ‘corrupt’, not only out of jail, but also in ‘King-maker’s role’ with complete commercial news media in celebration mode and they use all sort of expletives for social media, which enforced changes in polity with its message.
Another reading is regards control or better handle on the national (news) agenda. The ruling party’s reliance on its parent body for the state which is sometimes designated as it’s ‘experimental lab’ is near total. It came in power on the back of shift in the tribal voting pattern carefully crafted by diligent workers of the parent entity. These tribals have long been wooed by Missionaries as well as to some extent by Ulemas with different political leanings. The parent body’s thought of engineering a vote split based upon divisive agenda seems to being tested in spite of the swell-up in number of their followers as well as rise in number of part workers. The fact is that the divisive agenda has thrown in several other bouts of political challenge would be known in elections to come. Despite of a Mandir in pocket and new issues propped up by CAA, the electoral loss (of the parent body) would not be commented upon in the news media because of its habitual lethargy, deliberate misinterpretations.
Third reading would be regards the GOP or Grand Old Party. While celebrations may have begun in this camp, however the commercial news media often tends to treat their victory itself being the message of the elections rather that what it may mean. Quite a few in the media tend to overboard articulating a revival of the party and its leaders. Basically looking beyond party politics, one should look at options the voter has, viz. strong central-strong regional leaders (standard Federal government model), strong central-weak regional leaders (Centralized government), Weak Central-Strong Regional model (liberal Federal model) or Weak-Weak (which actually signifies no choice of leadership). Presently we have a Strong Central leaders and a rise in Strong regional identities but the regional identities need some external support to be propped up in respective region from GOP and other local parties (and ruling party may have been unable to fulfil its own role is supporting strong regional leaders). While the poll pundits would spend their dime, but thought to pen down my own two cents. Let the Game evolve….