The recently concluded assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand have thrown up many surprises and doubts, have once again raised questions about the credibility of the election results and Election Commission of India. Conscious citizens of India are finding it extremely hard to accept the election verdict. But on the other hand, Narendra Modi described the victory secured by the BJP and its allies in Maharashtra and substantial victories in the by polls in several States as one for “unity” and the spirit behind the slogan ‘ek hain toh safe hain’ (united we remain safe). The Mahayuti leaders, that is, the Maharashtra version of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) credited their success to the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, outreach efforts towards smaller communities, internal coordination, higher women voters’ percentage, and the RSS factor.

In the electoral history of India in the recent past, this election result is an unprecedented electoral sweep which Maharashtra has not seen since the 1980s. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party, winning 132 seats on its own out of 132 seats it contested. The Mahayuti which contested all 288 seats own in 235 seats, making this result almost a clean sweep. The result has come to a detrimental level where there will not be any opposition leader in Maharashtra Assembly since none of the three parties of the alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has secured the required number of seats to get the position of opposition leader.

MVA has described Mahayuti’s electoral triumph as “unexpected and unimaginable”. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray questioned the basis of public support for the Mahayuti, citing unresolved issues such as the plight of soybean farmers, industries being shifting from Maharashtra to Gujarat, concerns over women’s safety, rising inflation, and crop loan waivers. The Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 95 seats within the alliance but could win only in 20 seats. The Congress fought the elections in 101 constituencies but could get only 16 seats while the third partner NCP of Sharad Pawar fought in 86 seats but could manage to win only 10 seats.

After voting in Haryana, most of the exit polls projected victory for the Congress party. Both in the perception of political pundits and popular thinking, it was a unique opportunity for the Congress to reclaim power after a decade of BJP rule in the state. Buoyed by a surprising show in the Lok Sabha election, where it bagged 5 out of 10 seats after drawing a blank in the previous two national polls, the Congress entered the fray for the Haryana Assembly with renewed optimism, boosted also by widespread anti-incumbency against the BJP. Against this, the BJP manufactured consent by dividing the Dalit vote in Haryana.

Just before the election, the government of Haryana announced that it will divide Scheduled Castes (SCs) into deprived scheduled castes (DSC) of 36 groups such as Balmikis, Dhanaks, Mazhabi Sikhs and Khatiks, and Other Scheduled Castes (OSC) consisting of Chamars, Jatavs, Rehgars and Raigars, among others. The government decided that DSCs would have an internal reservation of 50 per cent within the SC quota. This division influenced the vote shift from those of the second-largest SC community in the state, the Balmikis, to the BJP. This not only helped in the reserved seats, but built a narrative in support of the BJP.

In Maharashtra the BJP did not play the caste and sub-caste card. It went on to woo the electorate with false promises. Inspite of being assured of EVM which could be used in favour of the BJP, the Mahayuti strategized itself well. The BJP-led Mahayuti's campaign during the Maharashtra elections combined political alliances, social outreach, organisational infrastructure and issue-based focus to ensure the alliance's grand success. This landmark victory highlights the party's ability to recalibrate its approach following setbacks in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, reaffirming its dominance in one of India's most politically significant states.

Writing in the India Today on 24^th November, 2024, Aishwarya Paliwal and Piyush Mishra state that the BJP’s Hindutva messaging played a central role in tilting the election results in favour of BJP. The slogan "Batenge toh katenge" (divided we fall), coined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, became a rallying cry, later reinforced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "ek hain toh safe hain" (unity ensures safety). This strategy came in handy to address caste-based divisions that had hurt the BJP’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections. By emphasising unity within the Hindu community, the BJP created a cohesive voter base. The Hindutva narrative, including the party’s commitment to Ram Mandir, cow protection and cultural nationalism, resonated strongly in rural and semi-urban areas.

The Mahayuti alliance also managed to forged electoral alliance and project a Maratha and OBC unity. This strategy managed to secure the Maratha voters’ support. The party’s backing of Maratha reservation policies contrasted with the Congress-NCP (SP) government's past struggles, bolstering its image as proactive and responsive. The BJP’s concerted effort to connect with OBC communities included targeted campaigns, leadership representation, and region-specific initiatives, effectively weakening Congress-NCP (SP)'s traditional voter base. Though the Congress spoke in favour of caste census which would predominantly benefit the most backward castes, it did not cut much ice among this community.

Above all the parties that are part of Maha Vikas Aghadi could not forge a single purpose to win the election. In contrast to this, the Mahayuti managed to forge unity within the party and also within the alliance. Balancing leaders like Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde was no small feat. However, BJP's top leadership ensured personal ambitions took a backseat, focusing solely on winning Maharashtra. The Congress could not do this within Congress itself and it could not play the role played by BJP to forge a united fight against BJP and RSS. Nor was it humble enough to project Sharad Pawar as the unifying force and rallying point for the MVA. Sharad Pawar’s failure to build up a second line leadership within his party cost him his political career.

The incumbent party and alliance have come back to power with a bigger majority in Maharashtra. This fact needs to be decoded by all those who are concerned with electoral democracy in India. This issue needs to be addressed since six months ago the table was turned upside down for BJP and the alliance in the Lok Sabha election. Writing on this in the Hindustan Times, Roshan Kishore argues that welfare, freebies, doles, whatever one may choose to call it, is becoming an indispensable part of electoral strategy in most parts of India. It does not matter whether it is a poor state or a rich one, the underclass expects tangible, even if seemingly insignificant to the well-off, amount of money in return for votes. Political scientists surely will call this an aberration of electoral politics. But it is in this aspect that the BJP and the RSS have secured tangible lessons election after election.

While these arguments are given for the electoral victory of BJP in Maharashtra what is overlooked repeatedly need to be foregrounded. It is a hard hitting fact that the Supreme Court of India doesn’t deliver the Shiv Sena and NCP defection judgement since May 2023. This played in favour of the Shiv Sena and National Congress Party factions of Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. Delaying this judgement is constitutionally illegal but the Supreme Court did not bother to violate the constitutional rights.

While on the one hand, the Supreme Court utterly failed to deliver its verdict on this crucial issue, a month before the assembly elections, Chief Justice of India, Chandrachud invites Narendra Modi, with Camera, for Ganapati darshan at his home. What is all the more untenable is that Chandrachud was to retire soon. Due to this act of Chandrachud himself hailing from Maharashtra this sent a signal to the andha bhakt to vote for Modi. Thus, a Supreme Court judge became a EVM for Modi and BJP. Needless to say, the retired judge has set a precedence for other judges to publicly flaunt their closeness to the politicians.

Further, the Election Commission of India (ECI), which has almost become a stooge of the ruling establishment delayed elections to Maharashtra assembly by a month. This period gave the Mahayuti alliance sufficient time to issue more than 2,000 Government Orders (GO). This one month gave breathing space for the BJP alliance sufficient time to heavily advertise the Ladki Bahin Yojana, effectively doling out the Government Funds on popular Schemes. Two related issues need to be voiced here. Firstly, Modi keeps accusing other political leaders and parties of engaging in ‘freebees culture’ but he and his party as well as the alliance is fully engaged in this gimmick. Secondly, governance procedures are grossly violated for electoral victory. No debates take place before introducing these schemes. Thus, there is violation of all the procedures, rules and regulations to suit the interest of the BJP and the RSS.

What is more intriguing is that along with the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India is silent on all these issues. Conscious citizens have been demonstrating that all the national institutions have been made dysfunctional or function only in favour of Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS. What is a death trap for electoral democracy in this country is that the Election Commission of India has become the most subservient stooge of Modi, the BJP and the RSS. It is this concrete fact which emboldened Eknath Shinde to boast that he would quit politics if any of the Shiv Sena defectors loses election.

Further, irrespective of the fact that Modi and his government have been redirecting investments from other states to Gujarat, the Maharashtra election has been stage managed well. Writing about this in Newslaundry on 8^th November, 2024, Pooja Prasanna stated the Union government’s lucrative incentives, out of reach for most states, raise red flags as they flow mainly to Gujarat, sparking claims of economic favouritism and challenging India’s federal balance. Prasanna pointed out to the fact that ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have intensified their accusations against the BJP-led Union government, claiming it has deliberately diverted major projects — such as the recently inaugurated Tata-Airbus facility in Vadodara — away from Maharashtra. 

In contrast to this reality, the main line media and social media aligned to the BJP-RSS lineage have already started to dish out punching in the narratives to make the electors believe the result was obvious and on the expected lines. What the BJP has succeeded in Maharashtra in political terms is ‘Manufactured Consent’. This is a concept popularized by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. It refers to the deliberate shaping of public opinion by powerful institutions, typically governments, media, or corporations, to align with their interests or objectives. These authors went on to describe manufacture consent in terms of was control of information, that is powerful entities control access to and dissemination of information. This can involve prioritizing certain narratives while suppressing dissenting voices.

Secondly illusion of free choice, which means while people believe they are forming independent opinions, their choices are often influenced or restricted by a pre-set range of acceptable views presented in mainstream discourse. Thirdly, normalization of power structures, that is, manufactured consent reinforces the legitimacy of existing power structures by making certain policies or ideologies appear inevitable, desirable, or beyond question. Narendra Modi has optimised this art by projecting himself as an inevitable, desirable and beyond doubt person as well as national leader.

A careful reading into the electoral politics, populist politics and personality cult also plays a lot within the BJP and RSS and above all in Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The defeat of the BJP and its alliance in the Lok Sabha elections in May 2024 was a major blow to BJP which not only could not reach up to its target of 400 seats but also loosing in Maharashtra was unimaginable. Narendra Modi it is known cannot take defeat. This is all the more in a state which gave birth to RSS. It is this defeat that the BJP and the RSS wanted to denounce by wining the assembly election by hook or crook.

The Sunday Guardian reported on 24^th November, 2024 that many observers suggest that the BJP’s unprecedented electoral success has to a large extent to do with the RSS and the BJP working like clockwork, unlike in the Lok Sabha elections. In fact, Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday evening visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur after voting for the Assembly polls concluded and met Mohan Bhagwat. A top source closely associated with RSS told The Sunday Guardian on the condition of anonymity that the results in Maharashtra are a clear mandate for Hindutva.

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, had a profound understanding of electoral democracy. He emphasized its potential as a tool for social justice while also warning against its limitations if not implemented thoughtfully. He believed that democracy is not just about periodic elections but a way of life rooted in liberty, equality, and fraternity. He argued that political democracy must be supplemented by social and economic democracy to be truly effective. He further cautioned against the hollowing out of democracy, where electoral processes exist but fail to address systemic inequalities.

Dr. Ambedkar was seriously concerned about political democracy and even much more about electoral democracy. As for him, “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy." He went on to argue that without addressing social inequities, elections might merely reinforce existing power structures. While highlighting the dangers of electoral democracy, Dr. Ambedkar pointed out to the dangers of populism and the manipulation of voters through caste, religion, and other divisive identities. He was critical of the potential for the majority to tyrannize minorities in a purely electoral system, advocating for safeguards to protect minority rights. He called for setting up strong institutions and constitutional mechanisms to ensure free and fair elections.

The Maharashtra assembly election result has shown very clearly and categorically that there is total breakdown of constitutional procedures and mechanism. It has also exhibited the fact that populism can be used to any level to win elections. Further, under the divide and rule policy, demonise the minorities so as to gain electoral victory. While the demand for doing away with the EVM should become a national campaign, in addition the three aspects mentioned of electoral democracy should be attended to before this edifice called Indian Nation crumbles by the omission and commission of demagogue politicians, short sighted political parties and spineless IAS, IPS, IFS and IRS officials and the national institutions, especially the Supreme Court and Election Commission.