– Arun Puri

History is a witness that even the greatest people who were considered as gods by their citizens eventually turned out to have weaknesses. This is the political paradox. Of an extreme level. This time in India, a strong statement coming out of the polling booths diminished that stature a bit.

If this seems like a mixed mandate and not very strong, then understand that this is its message. It is a correction, repair and a newly created balance of excess. Instead of giving another blank cheque, another gift of a full majority to the Narendra Modi government, the voters favoured restraint.

Democracy means ‘rule of the people’. Therefore, governments should pay attention to their collective wishes and aspirations. Indian voters are truly great teachers. Here are some lessons from the 2024 elections:

, Do not take the voter lightly. BJP’s slogan of ‘four hundred cross’ may have been a call but many felt that it was already decided, which was not acceptable to them at all. For Indians, their vote is sacred and no one can take away this right from them.

, Modi is still a very popular leader but the BJP can no longer rely on the Modi magic alone. It should promote other regional leaders to increase its numbers.

, Vote banks are not fixed in a mould or of a single tendency. They can shift or combine in different ways to change the political landscape. In this election, new caste combinations emerged in the Hindi belt. In Haryana, Dalits and Jats voted together for the first time since the Devi Lal era. A rare confluence of Jat-Meena-Gurjar-Jatav voters was seen in eastern Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, Dalits voted with Yadavs for the first time in three decades. The BJP’s number in seats reserved for Scheduled Castes has come down from 46 in 2019 to 30 now. In Maharashtra, ‘Ma-Mu’ i.e. Marathas and Muslims were seen voting together. This simple kind of social engineering damaged the narrative of “four hundred paar”.

, Political parties have been trying to woo women as a separate group but they cannot be seen in isolation. Their destiny is not any different from that of men. Women may vote differently from men but they may also vote differently from other women. It is wrong to assume that direct money transfers to their accounts or other women-specific sops will attract them en masse. You see, what worked for Mamata Banerjee did not work in favour of Arvind Kejriwal or Jagan Mohan Reddy.

, The politics of aggressive Hindutva nationalism has reached its peak. It may have an adverse effect on the liberal Hindu swing voter. The defeat of the BJP in Ayodhya, dubbed the ‘Vatican of Hindus’, is a clear indication of this. Apart from this, the margin of victory of the Prime Minister in the holy city of Varanasi has decreased by 68 percent. In such a situation, it should be hoped that the days of divisive politics are over.

, Fighting corruption is a good thing but discrimination and arbitrariness in such cases is not right. For example, welcoming turncoats with serious corruption charges and suppressing their cases. Out of 43 turncoat candidates of BJP, only 14 and out of 28 of Congress, only five won.

, Political opponents do not like their parties being split. This became evident in Maharashtra, where the BJP split two regional parties. There, the India Block won 30 out of 48 seats.

, The issue of EVM rigging has now been suppressed. Elections in India are free and fair.

, The myth of TINA (There is No Alternative) has been broken. Now there is TIFA/TIFA (There is Federal Alternative) i.e. a federal option. This phrase was coined by Kapil Sibal.

, The main issue was unemployment and inflation. Of course, this has been the issue in every election for some time. The only difference was that the BJP rarely acknowledged it. Lack of jobs and rising prices of everyday commodities affect everyone. Doles are akin to taking your own citizens for granted and are always inadequate. The ‘beneficiaries’ are not going to be satisfied with 5 kg of free ration. They want jobs so that they can lead a life of dignity. The competitive welfare policy being adopted by all parties is a race to take the country down.

, The reservation issue is related to jobs, and reservation is enshrined in the Constitution. The India Block statement was that the BJP’s target of 400 seats is to abolish reservation to change the Constitution. This misleading statement gained immense popularity and influenced Dalit and OBC votes. The issue is not going away because the promoters of caste census are now part of the winning coalition.

, The rural crisis clearly affected voting patterns. The BJP lost 49 of the 198 rural seats; the Congress added 26 seats to its previous tally of 29. Farmers clearly felt ignored by Modi 2.0.

, Ultimately, the voters have said that power should be accompanied by humility, otherwise this power will destroy you.

Apart from all these factors, there is also an intangible factor and that is the pervasive sense of fear in society. People talk in whispers in drawing rooms. Government ministers switch off their phones during meetings, even in private conversations, and ask you to do the same. Businessmen are afraid to go against the government. Academics are afraid to express their opinions openly. NGOs face a hostile environment.

Since all the exit polls were wrong simultaneously, I suspect their predictions went wrong because people, out of fear, did not tell them the truth about who they were voting for and said ‘yes’ to the ruling party. A free press is essential for any vibrant and throbbing democracy. If the press is tightly monitored, ‘directed’ to cover countless government events and criticism is stifled for fear of retribution, we all become very far removed from ground reality.

This is equally true for other ruling parties. Had the previous government not lived in echo chambers, it might not have suffered this electoral fate. The autonomy of institutions has been undermined. Enforcement agencies are being used as tools of intimidation.

Loosely drafted draconian laws like the PMLA and sedition are being used recklessly. With countless rules and regulations, cases can be filed without any concrete evidence. Everyone knows that the process in India is punishment in itself and very few cases reach a conclusion. This is not new but has become common now.

There is a lot of hype about becoming the third largest economy in the world but it is not understood that our large population is the main factor behind this. In terms of per capita income (PPP), we are still 125th in the world. There is extreme inequality. The top 1 percent of the population now owns more national wealth than ever before. The top 10 percent own almost 80 percent. All this is not a sign of a healthy society.

Despite all this, the BJP has been given another chance to rule India. It should be congratulated for fighting off ten years of anti-incumbency. It is commendable that Modi has led the BJP to three consecutive terms, a feat achieved by Jawaharlal Nehru six decades ago. The electorate may still be generous, but it has sent a warning message to the BJP: reduce the posturing because symbolism does not equal reality. Instead, focus on things that really matter to human life and livelihood.

The BJP has recorded significant gains—most notably, gains in new regions. But its long-held dream of transforming India into a unitary, two-party system by eliminating regional parties has been confronted by a grim reality. Ironically, what saved the BJP was the group of NDA allies that election pundits had predicted would be its weakest link.

The voters’ message applies equally to the Congress, which ran a fiery campaign led by Rahul Gandhi, who crisscrossed the country like a man of revolutionary fervour despite financial constraints. The result was a near doubling of its seats across India, from Kerala to Punjab and the Northeast.

But if it starts to fantasize about a return to its glory days, that would be arrogance. It has only become a convenient tool for the expression of mass disillusionment. If the Congress is to move forward, it must craft a narrative beyond criticism of Modi and the BJP. A vision that takes India forward, not backwards, as many of its fanciful schemes suggest.

We will now have an NDA government that is very different from the one in the last decade. Modi 3.0 will be different because it will have to rely on two crutches—both of which have been known to be unstable. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has the ability to leave any coalition before you can even utter its full name. We also have the surprising resurgence of Chandrababu Naidu, a great deal-maker who will extract big concessions from his new partner. Both Nitish and Naidu will extract a price for support.

I believe India needs a man like Modi, who has a clear vision for a modern India, who works hard, delivers and eschews corruption. Yet he must understand that India, with its immense diversity, is itself an alliance. And alliances can only function through mutual discussion, debate and consensus.

It will be tedious and tiring but more sustainable. India is a country with immense potential. Modi’s previous leadership made the world and India realise this, but we need a different path and style to lead us to the bright future that awaits us.

I salute the Indian voter for the mandate of 2024.

– Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief and Chairman (India Today Group)