As India begins voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, key opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has questioned the credibility of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in governing the nation of 1.4 billion.
Gandhi, addressing a joint media briefing on the last day of canvassing for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on 19 April, said that the BJP’s claims of transforming India in the last 10 years is far from the truth.
“Mr Modi is often seen diving underwater or flying high in the sky,” Gandhi spoke of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. “He is never seen talking on concrete issues.”
The former president of the Congress party said Modi’s BJP thrived on “politics of distraction”, while important issues like unemployment and inflation continue to make Indians suffer.
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Gandhi was addressing the briefing along with INDIA bloc partner, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad constituency.
The briefing was significant in that it brought together the two opposition leaders in a united stance against the BJP, in one of the most electorally crucial states.
With 80 seats, Uttar Pradesh sends the most MPs to India’s Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament). The Hindi heartland state, which begins voting on 19 April from its western constituencies, will actually hold polls across all seven phases of the election.
It is crucial to shaping the political fate of the parties at the Centre.
UP youth, farmers unhappy
BJP’s promises to farmers are mere lies, claimed SP president Yadav. “BJP has betrayed the farmers by first bringing in three black laws – and then withdrawing them once they got scared by the farmer power.”
Gandhi added that the youth have no jobs left. And the Congress-SP alliance would ensure that vacancies for government jobs are properly filled as well as the issue of recruitment exam paper leaks will be tackled.
83% of India’s unemployed are youth, according to the India Employment Report 2024 jointly published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD). Although Uttar Pradesh has a lower unemployment rate of 2.4% than the national average of 3.17%, its per capita income remains low and more than 22% of its people are below the poverty line.
Muslim vote
Political consultant Naveen Kumar believes UP will see a massive sweep towards the BJP this time, including Muslim vote. “On the ground, voters, including Muslims are only concerned about roti, dal, paisa (bread, money),” he told PressXpress.
“And Muslims are very happy with the PM schemes for direct cash transfers and housing. This will ensure Muslim vote goes to BJP in UP.”
Western UP which is voting on 19 April is particularly dominated by Muslim voters. In constituencies across Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit, the Muslim population holds significant sway, ranging from 23-42%.
Political analyst Parvez Ahmed believes that the biggest challenge for the Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance is to keep the Muslim voters united in their favour. A major reason for this is that since 2019, the SP has not been very vocal on Muslim-related issues, Ahmed told Deccan Herald.
On the other hand, the BJP is targeting 15% of Muslim votes, compared to the 10% it got in 2019 elections in the entire state. It has especially targeted those Muslims who have benefitted most from the government’s welfare schemes.
But Kumar differs. He says the most important issue in Uttar Pradesh, which will be remembered for “the next 100 or 200 years” will be the Ram Mandir consecration issue. Whether Gandhi labels it as politics of distraction or not, “this one issue alone has set the entire narrative for the Lok Sabha election and will make sure BJP wins by a large margin in Uttar Pradesh as in the rest of India.”
