A painfully long election in our hottest summer has ended. The tea leaves will be read in the exit polls, but one must keep in mind their imperfect record. Even for a single state, West Bengal, which went to polls in 2021, one out of four got the result wrong. Opinion polls, conducted before this longest cycle of elections was announced, were unanimous that the BJP would get a majority.
Today, some are not sure this will be the case, but we shall see. Without knowing the results, however, what can be said about the election that is still important? Let us work our way through the possibilities.
The first is that no matter who wins, this was not a free or fair election. Two chief ministers were jailed before campaigning began. Jailed not because they were convicted but because the BJP wanted them jailed. One of them was released for a few days of campaigning, but will have to return to jail now.
Access to Opposition bank accounts was restricted, through attacks made by agencies controlled by the BJP. The Election Commission compromised itself, sadly, and allowed the BJP to control both the planning of the phases and their execution. The commission’s insolent replies to the Opposition, its refusal to act on the prime minister’s hate speeches against Muslims, and its refusal to release........