In 2019 the share of percentage had gone up by 8 percent on the previous mandate. Modi had used the Pulwama massacre of 40 soldiers and projected it as an attack on Indian nationalism to win the election. Indeed, it was shocking how a sitting Prime Minister could exploit the gruesome incident to arouse passion for pure electoral gains.

Five years since, the Indian voters have come see through the 2019 game. Hence, Modi’s latest attempts to evoke nationalism have failed to yield the desired result. The increasing distrust towards Modi in the Indian people could also be made out from the fact that more people have voted this time than they had voted in 2014 to install Modi as the prime minister. Is the new percentage a reflection of a resolute determination to bring in a new face replacing Modi?

There’s little trust in EVMs. Voters nurse the feeling that even if they push the button for some other political party, eventually it would go to the BJP tally. This has resulted in democratic disenchantment, thinking it is futile to take pains to go to the polling booth and cast one’s vote.

Usually, the Lok Sabha elections are held during the hot and humid summer. This time too it is not exception. However, voters beat the heat and come out to register the democratic mandate. Blaming the hot summer for the 4 per cent people drop in phase one polling percentage is a poor excuse to hide the poor response and peoples’ anger against Modi.

The first phase of voting in Lok Sabha elections usually sets the tone for subsequent phases. In 2019, phase 1 recorded the highest turnout, at 69.5 per cent. Similarly, the first phase of the nine-phase 2014 parliamentary polls was among the highest, at around 69 per cent. The vote percentage has sharply declined, that too in the backdrop of Modi projecting his so-called achievements and concern for the poor. Decline of the percentage of votes implies that people have refrained from endorsing his claims.

In the Assembly elections, voter turnouts have been high. In panchayat polls, it even reaches 95 percent. But in Lok Sabha elections, it went down to around 62 per cent. A senior EC official admits: “summer is not the sole factor.” In Bihar, too, the State Electoral Officer H R Srinivas said: “We cannot narrow it down to one factor. There could be some latent reasons.”

Was Modi unaware of the change in the mood of the people? For him, the basic issues, such as unemployment, poverty and inflation, did not matter. Though economists challenged the narrative of NITI Aayog on joblessness and poverty, PM Modi never bothered to take them seriously. His repeated shielding of the scam-tainted corporates and accepting all the anti-people corrupt politicians into the BJP-NDA fold has been disliked by the people, in popular parlance derided as “BJP washing machine”. Regrettably, Modi continues to blame the Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress as the patrons of the corrupt politicians.

The RSS and BJP had claimed that demolition of Babri Masjid and construction and consecration of Ram Mandir would enthuse the youths. But it has merely proved to be a mirage. While RSS had ten years to build a strong base of youth members, Mohan Bhagwat and his protégé Modi have been busy communalizing and poisoning the society, instead building a base of talented youths ready to take India into the future. At a time when youths are new looking for new education avenues, Modi and his Sanghi cronies are out to trample and finish off the education system, turning it into an American style profiteering and debt-generating machine. The scholarships for the underprivileged and minorities are being discontinued.

In the first phase of polling in 2019, the turnout was around 70 per cent. But this time the overall voter turnout in 102 constituencies in 21 states and Union Territories was recorded at 62.37 per cent till 9 pm, with the highest percentage in Tripura at 80.17 per cent. The downturn was around 7 per cent. In 2019, the voting percentage shift to 70 percent was only due to the active participation of the youths. An insight into the present averseness would make it clear that they are no more willing to be treated as mere ballots, numerical voters by Modi, who trampled on both the education system as well as caused unprecedented 45-year-high unemployment crisis.

The worst victims of Modi’s discrimination have been the Dalit and Muslim students and youths. Modi must do some introspection why are the youngest eligible voters remain hesitant to exercise their franchise? Election Commission has called upon the young people to get registered as voters. But ironically, only 38 per cent of the voters between the age of 18 and 19 have registered for the 2024 elections across the country.

It is usually said that participation in elections is a key freedom. Non-participation in the electoral process will create trouble as democracy will not realise its potential. Ironically, these young voters are witness to the trampling of democracy and its ethos by the RSS and BJP government led by Modi.

There is the need for sounding a word of caution at this stage. Modi is not the person to accept defeat lying down. Still six rounds are left and he would certainly like to mould the electoral proceedings in his favour. There is little doubt that he would go to any extent to subvert and rig the election. Already, PM has turned the pitch divisive while addressing an election rally in Rajasthan, saying: “if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims”. To justify himself, he cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources. Modi said: "This urban-naxal mindset, my mothers and sisters, they will not even leave your 'Mangalsutra'. They can go to that level."

In fact, Dr. Singh had said that the poor, OBCs, people from weaker section and minorities would have the first claim. Modi must know that Muslims are not only the minorities. There are Sikh, Christian, Parsis and others. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has also challenged Modi to withdraw his remark on Congress manifesto. Modi had said: "The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute that property. They will distribute it to whom - Manmohan Singh's government had said that Muslims have the first right on the country's assets."Expectedly, Modi was trying to ignite communal passions, with an ever compliant Election Commission looking away. (IPA Service)