Elections Twenty20

Elections in India have been likened to a Twenty20 cricket match, with parties concentrating all their campaign effort in the end-overs. But this time’s Lok Sabha poll is stretching even such analogy a bit too far. We are slightly over three weeks away from the first phase of the election and the two major contenders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, have declared only about half their candidates until now. In many states — including Uttar Pradesh (UP), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi — the final contours of battle lines are yet to be drawn, with alliances still being stitched and parties struggling to resolve infighting over ticket distribution. In Andhra Pradesh, it is virtually raining parties; Saturday saw the launch of one more new party by yet another matinee idol.

Delayed selection of candidates by the Congress may be partly a result of a lack of confidence. There are many who are not particularly enthusiastic about contesting, fearing an embarrassing defeat. In the case of the BJP — which is currently riding, if not a ‘Narendra Modi wave’, at least a strong ripple — the reasons are somewhat different. The stitching of last minute alliances and the possibility of forging others in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have held up selection. The party has also been hit by serious factional infighting that is hindering the process of finalisation. Interestingly, the party has not announced a single candidate for UP, Haryana and Delhi, despite 27 constituencies in these three states going to vote on April 10. The BJP, of course, would like people to believe that candidate announcement is a mere formality since this election is largely about electing Modi as Prime Minister. But this fails to mask the discord over seat allocation on the ground.

A larger reason why electioneering is being increasingly reserved for the slog overs is the role of communications and education. In the old days, candidates had to go to every nook and cranny of their constituencies to canvass for votes. Satellite television cannot replace physical canvassing, but it makes it easier to reach more people within a shorter period. Also, unlike in the past, when only the local audience got to hear a neta ’s address, today the same speech can be telecast live and repeated many times over to reverberate way beyond the place where it was delivered. Alongside technology, there is also much greater voter awareness now about both parties and issues. People don’t need to be ‘told’ about whom to choose and are in a position to make informed assessments whether a ruling party should be given another chance or simply voted out. This again renders extended and elaborate campaigns less important than before. It is still early days, but the rules of the election game are changing as they did with cricket.

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