Some think that LS polls are not going to be held before inauguration of the Ram Mandir in January 2024’.
New Delhi
preparing for upcoming Assembly polls in several states, there is a buzz in political circles about declaration of early Lok Sabha polls (along with state elections), as some believe there are chances of Lok Sabha polls being held in late 2023.
However, there is a school of thought that holds that the Lok Sabha polls are not going to be held before inauguration of the Ram Mandir in January 2024; so even if the Lok Sabha polls are preponed by a couple of months, they may be held in February-March 2024.
A person privy to the developments said that the PMO has asked the Election Commission regarding their preparation for general elections. A political analyst viewed this development (if true) as a “clever tactic to tackle Opposition unity”. He said, “If they contest elections early, they might also contest elections on different issues rather than on religious issues. They could also put out the development work done by their party to counter Opposition.”
The Sunday Guardian called the Election Commission of India for its response; however, there was no response from the poll body till the time of going to press. A section of political experts believe that the chances of general elections being held early are slim, as the inauguration of Ram Mandir is pending. Political analysts say the BJP has laid emphasis on the construction of Ram Mandir as part of its political campaign. A political expert said, “It looks like there are less chances of early elections.” Yet those who are aware of BJP’s “sudden decisions” are wary that the elections could happen early.
A BJP party insider said that in most of significant organisational areas, the BJP has already readied itself and it is also known as the party that is election-ready. So that won’t be a problem, though it may be a problem for the Opposition which has a lot of settlement to do within themselves about seat sharing and election strategy.
It is believed in political circles that the Opposition will be caught unawares (if the general elections are held early) as their preparations for the elections are incomplete.
Experts also believe that if Opposition unity is successful and all the anti BJP parties come together on the table, it would be difficult for the single largest party to get the majority on its own, and find it difficult to form the government.
Thus, the measures would be taken to dismantle the upcoming Opposition strategy of one constituency-one candidate. A political analyst said, “If all the parties come together, it is natural that BJP would be on the back foot. Plus, there are clear intentions of some regional satraps that they want to have a broad-based alliance which signals that they are adamant to go against BJP at all costs even if it giving up a little. Their target is the ultimate goal of bringing the BJP down. So, if it happens, it would be the counter strategy of BJP to beat them even before the game starts because they would be left discussing and BJP would be battle ready.”
Another reason political experts say is the Assembly elections where the BJP could find itself weak as there is anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh.
A political expert said, “In Chhattisgarh also, they are almost set to lose again. Moreover, in Telangana, they were expecting to have hold of considerable seats to set the foundation for next elections. But after the Karnataka polls, the cadre is demotivated and people are leaving the saffron camp. Also, in Rajasthan, there is a wave of pro-incumbency after the Gehlot government announced a slew of schemes and subsidies. Thus, this could be the party’s two-pronged strategy to win states as well as at the Centre.”
Also, officials in the Election Commission suggest that the rise in such (early elections) speculation has been caused by Nitish Kumar’s statement. Kumar, while addressing an event of the rural works department (RWD), said, “The officers have assured me that all the remaining work of rural roads would be completed by January 2024. It is good that you (officers) will complete them by January 2024, but I will request you to do the work faster, as early as possible. It will be good if you complete the remaining works earlier because who knows when the (Lok Sabha) elections will happen? It is not necessary that the elections will be held next year. Koi thikana hai? (Is there any guarantee?).”