Modi breaks the rules of poll war

As the last leg of polling for the Lok Sabha election approaches, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, is all but calling war on the Election Commission, among the country’s most crucial and trusted institutions. Whether this betrays a sign of nervousness on the part of the BJP leader, who may be readying himself to scapegoat the election watchdog in case his numbers fall short, is an issue of significance, but it need not detain us here. 

 

The immediate point of concern is the utter disregard in which Mr Modi and his acolyte Amit Shah, a BJP general secretary overseeing electioneering for Mr Modi in the country’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, seem to hold the EC. It cannot be emphasised enough that the EC is a constitutional body charged with delivering independent, transparent and fair-minded elections to the country, and as such is as crucial to our democratic fabric and its credibility as our independent judiciary and free media. 

 

If the BJP, as a party hoping to be in government shortly, appreciates this, it may consider reining in its principal election-time operative, whose dazzling political rise in a short space of time may be leading him into indiscretions, if it does not wish to bring ignominy upon itself. The RSS, the BJP’s mother-body, may consider doing the same.

 

It was sensible of Arun Jaitley, a BJP leader held in public esteem, to be critical of his party’s arrangements on Monday in Faizabad where Mr Modi flagrantly invoked Lord Ram in a hot election speech from a podium whose backdrop was framed by a massive likeness of the Hindu deity around whom the BJP has run innumerable political campaigns which have ended in controversy and violence.

 

Moving tactically, Mr Jaitley blamed his party’s local unit for the inappropriate podium set since invoking religion is disallowed under our election laws. It is not clear if Mr Modi grasps the gravity of the situation. He began on April 30 when he appeared to violate key sections of the Representation of the People Act, for which the EC ordered the filing of an FIR against him in Gujarat.

 

The Gujarat leader then mocked the poll body. He hit out at the commission once again on Sunday in his public rallies, challenging it to have him arrested, and accusing it of not checking poll rigging in West Bengal, Bihar and UP. On Monday, he invoked Hindu religious symbols in Faizabad as Mr Shah — his key political assistant — was busy indirectly demonising the Muslims when he claimed that Azamgarh — in UP — was the centre of terrorism.

 

All this does appear a touch pre-meditated for a warrior in whom BJP has put all its trust, and who began by saying he would only stress issues of development.