Narendra Modi itching to wreck the opposition ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections | Arun Srivastava

Narendra Modi does not like to keep the façade of being a social democrat. His exhorts the people of Uttarakhand at an election rally; “Chun chun kar saaf kar do. Is baar inko maidan me mat rahne do. (Handpick each and every one of them and erase them. Don’t let them stay in the field this time),” is the reflection of his authoritarian trait which he has been carefully nursing for long.

What prompted him to enjoin in such a ferocious manner is Rahul Gandhi expressing the apprehension at INDIA meet in Delhi that if the BJP wins the election through “match-fixing” and changes the Constitution, the country would be “set ablaze” and it would not survive. What made Rahul to make this observation? There must be some tangible reason for Rahul to visualise the crisis. But instead of coming out with his clarification, Modi retorted by saying; “The Congress doesn’t believe in democracy and is provoking people. They believe in Emergency and anarchy, they want to destabilise India.”

With the spectre of losing the Lok Sabha election staring at his face, the fear of super hero of the saffron ecosystem, Modi, initiating more regressive measures to eliminate the opposition from the electoral battle field has gripped not only the political leaders of the country but also the common people. A section of the people have already started discussing the political validity and relevance of the elections. The paranoia of invisible threat is quite acute.

As if Modi has not been satisfied with the actions of his pets, ED, CBI, IT and police of terrorising, torturing and unleashing repression on his opponents, he only four days back threatened afresh the opposition rank with severe action, he nonetheless did not spell out the nature and character of the coercive measures he plans to resort to. This was clearly manifest in his talking at an election rally in Meerut: “You have seen only the trailer in the last 10 years of my rule, but we have to move forward in the coming years. I am already prepared to come to you with a report in 2029.”

He does not miss a single occasion to convey that he is the modern version of the mighty monarch of yesteryears who simply believed in his strike power. A glimpse of his monarchic mind was evident in his saying; ““People used to say that building the Ram temple (in Ayodhya) would be impossible. But you have seen that not only was the temple built, but Ram Lalla also played Holi in Awadh this year the way Holi is played in Mathura.

He even cautioned: “People thought that a law against the instant triple talaq wouldn’t be possible but we enacted it and saved the lives of thousands of Muslim women. People also thought that Article 370 would never be scrapped but we did it and Jammu and Kashmir is growing today.” His Meerut speech was simply not of the nature of his self-eulogy or self-assertion.

His public commitment to democracy is simply a disguise to conceal his true autocratic character. Historical facts point to the fact that a ruler, who has been a victim of suppressed feelings, often turns into an autocrat. He cherishes sadistic pleasure in asserting his supremacy, True enough this has been the case with Modi. There is nevertheless a finer difference between monarchs and Modi. Since he has ushered into power riding on the democratic norms and practices, he does not dare to denounce democracy, though all his actions point to this. He pretends to be more democrat than others.

Modi during his ten-year rule has successfully managed to disassemble the two pillars, legislative and bureaucracy. People have been witness to Parliament not discussing public issues and bureaucrats prostrating before him. In Kiran Rijiju he had the perfect person to cajole the judiciary. Rijiju at law minister resorted to all kinds of intrigues for cajoling the judiciary to listen to the diktats of Modi. But he proved to be a lilliput before the CJI D Y Chandrachud and eventually has to bow out of the office. Since then Modi has been planning to brow beat Justice Chandrachud and make him submit.

The recent incident of more than 600 lawyers writing to Justice Chandrachud alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts is the part of the big game. Modi is aware that any kind of direct attack on CJI and or launching of a smearing campaign against him would prove to be disastrous and bounce back. He knew that any public insinuation would turn the people hostile to him.

These lawyers in their letter virtually praised CJI and tried to convince him that the lawyers opposed to Modi were trying to misuse and exploit him. The letter read, “CJI Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these ’tough times’ and the apex court should stand strong. It is not the time to maintain dignified silence”. The lawyers led by senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to the Chief Justice of India alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, especially in cases of corruption involving politicians.

Quite noticeable, their letter did not bring a storm in the drawing rooms of the social elites. This even failed to provoke the common people of the country. Nevertheless he tried his best to use it to pressurise CJI. As on previous occasions he once again targeted Congress. This has ulterior motive and intentions. He wanted to tell the people that RSS or saffron ecosystem was not dictating the judiciary, instead it was following its diktats. In a way Modi defiled judiciary.

His statement needs a look; “To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a "committed judiciary" - they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.”

Famed for speaking lies and distorting the historical facts, Modi has been using the letter to present himself as the victim of judicial actions and opposition criticism. Congress was right in saying; “PM’s brazenness in orchestrating an attack on the judiciary, in the name of defending it, is the "height of hypocrisy". "The Supreme Court has delivered body blows to him in recent weeks. The Electoral Bonds Scheme is but one example. The Supreme Court declared them to be unconstitutional — and it is now proved beyond doubt that they were a blatant instrument of fear, blackmail, and intimidation to force companies to donate to the BJP".

True speaking the letter aimed at denigrating and insulting the Supreme Court, especially the CJI Chandrachud. All the eminent signatories to the letter are Modi’s men. Salve had appeared before the CJI to defend the SBI in Electoral Bond plan, which was declared as unconstitutional by CJI. Surprisingly the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Adish C. Aggarwala wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her to intervene on the recent Court’s judgment on the electoral bonds scheme to protect the corporate houses who have funded political parties, the Association’s executive committee has issued a statement dissociating itself from the plea. It was an unusual move meant to guard the interest of the corporate sector and protect the face of Modi from being smeared.

While the rightist and fascist forces are hell bent on keeping their control on the polity and political structure of the country, the so called secular forces are still not serious about fighting them. While Modi has been getting ready to inflict a fresh assault, they are fighting among themselves. What has been most exciting has been they continue to target Congress and Rahul Gandhi though they are too keen to ride the bandwagon of Congress and exploit the name of Rahul.

Let us take the three states, UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, which are of quite importance for INDIA bloc. An anti-people sense will have intense impact on the entire eastern and northern states. A sense of despondency has gripped the constituents of the INDIA bloc in Bihar at the sudden attitudinal change in RJD chief Lalu Yadav towards them and his impulsive tactic not to concede their request for allocating them the seats where they have roots.

The constituent leaders feel that the massive response to Tejashvi’s Jana Vishwas Yatra has made Lalu adopt a tough stance towards the allies. In Bihar Mahagathbandhan there are three major parties—RJD, Congress and Left led by CPI(ML)—but he has been using bullying tactics to force them to agree to his offer. While Lalu is not willing to provide Purnea seat to Pappu Yadav whose wife is already a Congress Rajya Sabha member and also recently he merged his Jana Adhikar party. Lalu is against Congress fielding its young turk Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai.

One such case is Lalu taking away one seat for MLC from the Congress. The seat was held by senior Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra, who in fact had started his political career as NSUI leader some fifty years ago. Lalu with the consent of the state PCC chief allotted it to his own party candidate. In lieu he helped the PCC chief to get elected as the Rajya Sabha member. However state chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh claimed; "I keep meeting Lalu ji. There is nothing new in it”. Singh had started his political career with the RJD and was a minister in the UPA 1 government from that party’s quota.

The delay in deciding the seats has unnerved the Congress leaders. At least five senior Congress leaders have urged their leadership to exploit the good will created in the state due to Rahul’s Nyay Yatra. They point out that Lalu has been using the situation at the cost of Congress. They have expressed unhappiness with the senior Mahagathbandhan member for unilaterally deciding on candidates for four seats going to polls in the first phase on April 19.

The Congress leaders assert that though the party has lost its support base, even then in 2019 it had managed to win one seat while RJD did not win even one seat. Although the RJD has not come out with any official statement of going alone to the polls a photograph of Lalu sitting on a cot under a mango tree and handing over poll symbol to Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav has gone viral. Ironically he did not consult the constituent leaders before announcing his candidates.

These leaders alleged that Lalu was not adhering to the coalition dharma. Nikhil Kumar former Governor of Nagaland and ex Delhi police commissioner alleged;“Coalition dharma is being violated. Tickets are being distributed by (by the RJD) without finalising seat-sharing with alliance partners”. His father and former CM Satyendra Narayan Sinha represented the constituency from 1971 to 1984 while his wife Shyama was the Aurangabad MP from 1999 to 2004.

It was expected that after Nitish parting of ways and joining hands with the BJP, the INDIA bloc would collectively select the candidates for the 16 seats which were held by JD(U) of Nitish. But on the contrary Lalu has been out to grab those seats. Sources maintain least bothered of the sentiment of the allies’ Lalu has been going ahead with handing poll symbols to its candidates. Misa, Lalu’s eldest daughter, had unsuccessfully contested from Pataliputra seat twice in the past – in 2014 and 2019 has again been nominated.

Utter confusion also prevails in the Left circle. The negotiating team of the CPI(ML) is yet to know about the seats it would be offered. However a senior leader said that Lalu has offered it Nalanda seat instead of Siwan, the strongest base of the CPI(ML). Sources maintain that Lalu has been trying to grab the support base of CPI(ML) for its gain. He knows it well that CPI(ML) has managed to cultivate a strong base in Bihar. This was in fact in 2020 when CPI(ML) had ,managed to win 12 assembly seats out of 16 seats it had contested.

Incidentally the victory of Dhananjay of the CPIML Liberation-backed AISA in the JNU Student Union election has sent a message that it has a strong support base amongst the youth of Bihar. Dhananjay, a PhD scholar at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, is the son of a retired police officer from Gaya in Bihar. He grew up in Ranchi.

The students’ union had Dalit office-bearers in the past but Dhananjay is the first from the community to become its president after Batti Lal Bairwa of the CPM-backed SFI, who won in 1996 and 1998. The youth and students are shifting towards Left is also manifest in new far-Left group, the Progressive Students’ Association, debuting in the JNU students’ union with its candidate Nigam Kumari winning a councillor’s post in the School of Languages. The victory of Dhananjay also manifests that Rahul’s stand of caste survey and challenging the upper caste hegemony has caught the imagination of youth. Obviously Lalu has been desperate to exploit the emerging new caste equation.

In the neighbouring Jharkhand the CPI and CPI(M) have opened front with the INDIA allies JMM and Congress. Undeniably contesting the parliamentary polls is essential for recognition as national parties by the Election Commission of India, but the winnability index is a vital issue for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The primary mission of INDIA is to defeat the BJP, but the CPI is more concerned of retaining the national status.

It is worth recalling that at the Delhi meet of INDIA, even Sitaram Yechuri of CPI(M) and RJD supremo Lalu Yadav had emphasised on sacrificing self interest in the greater interest of INDIA. After the final list of the INDIA contestants was released, the state leaders of CPI and CPI(M) have raised banner of revolt against the INDIA leaders. CPI on Sunday named party candidates for four seats - Abhay Bhuiyyan in Palamu, Mahendra Oraon in Lohardaga, Arjun Kumar in Chatra and Rajesh Kumar Kisku in Dumka. CPI will contest four more seats.

Of course the state CPI is free to field as many candidates it desires. But at the same time they must comprehend the fallout of its move. CPI(M) too has nominated Gopin Soren, a farmer leader, from the Rajmahal seat and Jainendra Kumar from the Chatra Lok Sabha constituency. Left sources maintain that MCC has also decided to fight from the Dhanbad seat.

What is really shocking is the national leadership of CPI has allowed the state unit to come out of INDIA and nominate its candidates on 8 seats. There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand and the CPI does not have any MPs nor it has any MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly having the coalition of JMM-Congress-RJD ruling since December 2019. CPI Jharkhand general secretary Mahendra Pathak said; We have got clearance from our party central command for these four Lok Sabha seats”. He even claimed; “We have given a list of candidates for four more Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand for consideration of our party central command and if we get their clearance then we will put candidates in Hazaribagh, Giridih, Jamshedpur and Ranchi seats”.

There is no denying that this will prove a setback for the secular forces in their fight against rightist and fascist forces. The state secretaries of the CPI and CPI(M) must be senior leaders which is why they have been made the secretaries. Obviously one would like to know from them that did they ever witness such nature of opposition unity? Why has the opposition parties which consistently fought against the Congress since India attained freedom, and fed on anti-Congressism, have preferred to join hands with Congress? Left leaders of Jharkhand must have understood this fact.

Since the INDIA bloc had set up a national level committee to sort out the state level differences, it would have been correct for the Jharkhand CPI and CPI(M) leaders to take up the matter at national level. If they were really interested to contest the LS election they could requested their leaders Sitaram Yechuri and D Raja to talk to Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Yadav.