Hopefully, after the results are out, psephologists, statisticians and analysts of other ilk will examine very carefully how the Lok Sabha elections being spread over seven phases reflected the public mandate. Was it different from what would have been the case in just one phase, and how? Did events that took place in the interim influence the voting pattern? Did it naturally benefit a particular party or all in a similar fashion? How was campaigning before voting began different from that which took place during the seven phases? Was the impact of events – such as the ongoing Congress meltdown due to statements made on daily basis by its spokespersons and others – greater during elections than it would have been in the run up to the elections?
How essential is it for people to deliver their verdict together to obtain a genuinely representative mandate? Or, is a staggered process a more evolved one? Surely, the perception about how the earlier phase of voting went will impact upon those voting later. Is that fair? Hopefully, these studies will be conducted by the Election Commission, itself, as its objective is to ensure a fair and free poll.
Also, what is to be said about the party and leadership that emerges on top after this convoluted process – will its mandate be reinforced by the layered mandate? It’s like having fought in seven separate arenas. It can already be said that the effort being put in by politicians across the country is not just tremendous but praiseworthy. Can any other nation around the globe conduct such a massive exercise? Should not due credit be given to India for being genuinely the world’s largest functional democracy? Presently, the only reactions being received are petty and condescending, as though ‘they’ know better about Indian politics.
So complicated is the election scenario that meeting all the requirements to conduct polls becomes an arduous and complex affair. The EC must also examine if all these complexities can be overcome through use of modern technology, so that weather, festivals, school and college examinations, topography, security concerns do not become obstacles. And, even after such a massive exercise is conducted, it will have to begin again in some state, albeit in not such a grand fashion. As a nation, serious thought should therefore be given to the one nation, one election concept, with legislative bodies having fixed tenures. That would save effort, money and time for the benefit of all.
