The Election Commission of India announced the dates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls of the worlds largest democracy last Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vying for the third straight election to the Treasury benches and infact is aiming to cross the 400-mark in the Lok Sabha.
The PM’s and the BJP’s mission of 400 + has been bolstered by the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration, which has seen a massive jump in BJP’s popularity and chances in the forthcoming elections. However, how much of those convert into votes only time will tell.
But the Modi-led government has taken several controversial decision, which could go both ways in the BJP’s prospects of winning in 2024.
CAA implementation…
After the Demonetisation, GST implementation, Article 370 abrogation, triple talaq Modi government has made another huge decision on implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) just before the polls, which has seen a vertical split amongst the Hindu and Muslim voters of the country.
According to the law Hindu, Buddhist, sikh and jain refugees form Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have been staying in India before 2014, can apply for Indian citizenship. The only issue is the CAA has kept out Muslim refugees.
Now this has led to a huge debate ahead of elections and could cost the BJP a loss of few Muslim votes, who had sided with the party in the past. But this could also increase its Hindu vote share.
Electoral bonds….
The Supreme Court of India has struck down the controversial Electoral bonds through which the BJP benefitted largely gaining around Rs 6000+ cr. The Congress was distant 2nd with Rs 1600 cr.
The issue has somnewhat been an embarassment for the ruling party, which is being called the “Hafta Vasooli” gang by the opposition.
Moreover, those who purchased the electoral bonds were victims of Enforcement Directorate and CBI raids.
EC appointments…
Just ahead of elections the government was in another embarassing position when Election Commission Arun goel resigned with immediate effect due to “differences” with Chief Election Commissioner.
There was a belief that Goel refused to toe the line of the government on many issues.
The committee soon appointed two ECs, which was challenged in the Supreme Court but the Apex Court refused to grant a stay.
Cong account freezing….
Last but not the least, the the Income Tax Department has frozen ₹ 115 crore in its bank accounts following a tax demand of ₹ 210 crore as dues and penalty for the financial year 2018-19.
Earlier this month, the tribunal had refused to accept the party’s petition to stop the department’s action against its bank accounts.
Now this move is being seen as a move to stiffle the opposition’s voice ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress has alleged that Prime Minister has made a systematic effort to cripple the party financially. The same charge was made by senior leader Rahul Gandhi as well.
“A systematic effort is underway by the Prime Minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially. Funds collected from the public are being frozen and money from our accounts is being taken away forcibly,” said Congress leaders.
Now while Modi’s popularity is at its all-time high, the question remains whether the above issues of CAA, electoral bonds, EC appointments and Congress accounts will have any impact on the electorates or he will have another cakewalk in 2024?
For now it does not seem like the common man is affected by the issues and only time will tell whether the “Ununited Opposition” is able to convince the voters about the same.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity is touching new heights and his improved approval score is likely to aid the BJP in emerging victorious for the third consecutive time in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
As per an Ipsos IndiaBus report called ‘PM Approval Rating Survey in February 2024,’ PM Modi’s approval rating witnessed a 10 per cent jump in February to 75 per cent from 65 per cent in 2023.
As per Surveys, the country’s North Zone is nodding its head for PM Modi with a maximum of 92 per cent approval followed by the East Zone (84 per cent) and West Zone (80 per cent). Meanwhile, the South Zone recorded a low of 35 per cent.
Ranking Modi government’s best and worst sectors, the survey covers adults of both genders from all four zones in the country, with over 2,200 respondents from different backgrounds answering its questionnaire and survey topics.
