Lok Sabha Election News and Views
REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India January 16-31, 2019
Chief Election Commissioner of India Sunil Arora. Photo: PIB
An Editorial Initiative of Raman Media Network
News | Events | Opinion | Voter Education | Trends
Main Stories in This Issue
Events
Campaigns
Opposition Rally Held Against BJP and Modi Voter Awareness Forums Launched
Congress Election Campaign in Delhi Opposition to Electronic Voting Machines
Trends
Research Reports
How to Protect Integrity of Elections Government Control on Social Media Voters’ Reactions on Social Media
Paper on Political Reforms in India Deterioration of Trust in Democracy Main and Missing Election Issues
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January 16-31, 2019
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Mamata Banerjee Leads Opposition Rally Against Modi The 'United India Rally' called by Mamata Banerjee virtually challenged the dominance of Congress in the pre-poll alliance of opposition parties. West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee – who is a fierce critic of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi – held a mega opposition rally in Kolkata on January 19 with the aim to defeat Modi’s BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
United India Rally. Photo: All India Trinamool Congress
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Mamata Banerjee – who is a strong contender for the PM position – said that her rally will ring the death knell for Modi’s BJP in the Lok Sabha election scheduled to take place after a few months. Political leaders from different parties participated in the 'United India Rally' led by Ms. Banerjee who believes that regional parties – instead of a monolithic party such as Congress – can defeat BJP. As the 'United India Rally' called by Ms. Banerjee virtually challenged the dominance of Congress in the pre-poll alliance of opposition parties, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi did not attend the rally. Instead, Congress was represented by Mallikarjun Kharge. Obviously, Congress is not comfortable with this campaign against Modi because Rahul Gandhi – who is being projected as the next PM of India - is not in the driver’s seat. However, Rahul Gandhi sent a matter-of-fact letter to Ms. Banerjee saying he extends support to her initiative.
Sheila Dikshit Plans to Win All 7 Lok Sabha Seats in Delhi The immediate task before Sheila Dikshit is to expose the weaknesses of Aam Aadmi Party government headed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. As the Congress party is trying to resurrect from the ashes of its repeated electoral defeats, on January 16 the party appointed veteran politician Sheila Dikshit as the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. Ms. Dikshit - who had gone into a virtual hibernation after her defeat in the 2013 Delhi election – plans to revive the party in Delhi. Her immediate job is to strengthen the party for the upcoming REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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Lok Sabha election scheduled to take place after a few months. She plans to win all the 7 Delhi Lok Sabha seats, which are currently held by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sheila Dikshit appointed president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee on January 16, 2019. Photo: Congress Last year, Congress had roped in Ms. Dikshit to help it rebuild the party which was fast losing its clout under the local leadership of Ajay Maken who has now resigned from his position as the president of Delhi Congress. The immediate task before Ms. Dikshit, 81, is to expose the weaknesses of the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government headed by Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal. She has also ruled out the possibility of any poll alliance with AAP. REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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The Kejriwal government has failed on all fronts and today Delhi is not only the most polluted and the dirtiest city of the world, but it is also among the most corrupt cities. Reports suggest that Kejriwal’s own MLAs and ministers are facing multiple corruption inquiries while Kejriwal is not taking any action to check rampant bureaucratic and political corruption in his government. As the Kejriwal government has completed 4 years in Delhi, Congress – under the leadership of Ms. Dikshit - would like to defeat AAP in the Lok Sabha as well as next year’s Assembly election. Congress also has released a booklet to highlight Kejriwal government’s failures. It explains AAP’s failures in all the areas of governance including healthcare, transport, education, and environment. “I will be available for Congress workers for 24 hours a day so they could be encouraged to work for the party at the ground level,” Ms. Dikshit said.
EVM Is Chor Machine: Farooq Abdullah While the manipulation of EVMs cannot be ruled out, it is expected to increase BJP’s chances of winning the Lok Sabha election. The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah says that the electronic voting machine (EVM) used in Indian elections is a chor (thief) machine which can be manipulated to change the outcome of elections. Abdullah, 81, demanded that the EVMs should be replaced with ballot papers to ensure transparency in elections – particularly the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
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“The EVM is chor machine. Its use must be put to an end. Nowhere in the world is the EVM used,” he said at the ‘United India Rally’ called by West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee on January 19. Abdullah suggested that the opposition parties should approach the Election Commission and the President of India to get the use of EVMs stopped and bring back the old ballot paper voting system. Although the ruling party BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in favor of EVMs, the opposition parties have raised serious doubts about the security of these machines. Major political parties in India have repeatedly complained about the vulnerability of EVMs. It is also being observed that when EVMs malfunction, they vote only in favor of Modi’s BJP. The opposition parties have formed a committee which will prepare a draft on EVMs. It will be submitted to the Election Commission. The committee will comprise Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Satish Misra.
Indian Govt to Regulate Social Media Before Lok Sabha Election Indian government has indicated it is looking into regulating social media platforms ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
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A recent research report has revealed that the rise of digital authoritarianism has led to a decline in internet freedom for the 8th consecutive year. Freedom House – a Washington-based independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world – has released its “Freedom on the Net 2018” report. Out of the 65 countries assessed in Freedom on the Net, 26 experienced a deterioration in internet freedom. Almost half of all declines were related to elections. The report says that the Indian government has indicated it is looking into regulating social media platforms ahead of the 2019 general / Lok Sabha election. With internet freedom score of 43 out of 100, India falls in the category of “partly free” country. Governments around the world are tightening control over citizens’ data and using claims of “fake news” to suppress dissent, eroding trust in the internet as well as the foundations of democracy, the r eport said in its findings. It adds that internet freedom in India declined in 2018 due to a staggering uptick in local internet shutdowns and the proliferation of misinformation and fake news across social media. The Indian government says the instances of misuse of social media by criminals and anti-national elements have brought new challenges to the law enforcement agencies. A calling attention motion on “Misuse of Socal Media Platforms and Spreading of Fake News” was admitted in the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in 2018 (Monsoon Session).
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India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has prepared the draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2018 to replace the rules notified in 2011. A consultation process was initiated with Inter-Ministerial consultations and thereafter with other stakeholders, including major social media companies / messaging services platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, WhatsApp, and other associations. The Government says it intends to consult all stakeholders in the process. Accordingly, MeitY had commenced public consultation on the draft rules with the timeline of submission of comments by 15th January, 2019.
How to Protect Integrity of Elections The meeting aimed at assisting electoral assistance providers with ideas on how to improve their electoral programs and activities. UNESCO
colloquium
communications
“Improving
and
the
information
ecosystem to protect the integrity of elections” has discussed the impact of social media and internet service providers on political communication and ways of strengthening the integrity of electoral processes in collaboration with the national electoral bodies. UNESCO organized this event in partnership with the Global Network Initiative (GNI), which is a multi-stakeholder organization of information and communication technology companies, civil REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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society organizations, academics, and socially responsible investors, working collaboratively to promote and protect freedom of expression and privacy on the internet. The meeting also aimed at assisting electoral assistance providers with ideas on how to improve their electoral programs and activities. Representatives of regional organizations that undertake election observation missions upon the request of their Member States were invited. This meeting was intended to provide social intermediaries and ICT companies with a platform to discuss existing and new measures aimed to strengthen integrity of electoral processes in the field of media and communication and engage with UNESCO Member States on these issues.
Report Finds a Deterioration of Trust in Democracy The Democracy Index reveals that disillusioned with formal political institutions, the world population has turned anger into action. The EIU Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime; and authoritarian regime. The eleventh edition of the Democracy Index reveals that disillusioned with formal political institutions, the world population has turned anger into action, and turned out to vote, and to protest. REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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EIU Democracy Index The EIU finds a deterioration of trust in democracy, which is evident in the worsening of most categories in this year’s Index.
Voter Awareness Forums Launched to Educate Indian Voters VAF is part of the Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) program of ECI. The Election Commission of India (ECI) launched the Voter Awareness Forum (VAF) in New Delhi on January 17. Similar VAFs were also launched by the Chief Electoral Officers in the State capitals and by District Election Officers in the Districts simultaneously. These are informal forums for generating awareness around electoral process through discussions, quizzes, competitions, and other engaging activities.
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Addressing the Nodal Officers from 44 Ministries, Government of India, and representatives from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi, the Commission exhorted them to immediately set up VAFs and facilitate enrollment of all employees and officials on the electoral roll. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that the founding fathers of the Constitution had an instinctive faith in the citizenry of our country and therefore gifted Universal Adult Franchise to the Indian populace while other democracies took years before extending this right to all its citizens. “It is therefore our collective responsibility to value and preserve this right, and in this endeavor Voter Awareness Forums have a crucial role to play,” Arora said. He asked the Nodal Officers to commit themselves to the aims of the VAFs which is to promote informed and ethical electoral participation, beginning with the first step of voter registration. VAF is part of the Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) program of ECI. Launched on the 8th National Voters Day, 25th January 2018, the ELC program envisages setting up of Electoral Literacy Club in every educational institution and Chunav Pathshala at every booth to cover those outside the formal education system. Around 2.11 lakh ELCs have already been established across the country in the first year of the launch of the program.
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New Face: Actor Prakash Raj As an independent politician, Prakash Raj promises to bring citizens’ voice to Parliament. An Indian actor Prakash Raj has decided to enter politics. He will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from the Bengaluru Central constituency in Karnataka as an independent candidate. “Thank you for the warm and encouraging response to my new journey,” he tweets. A fierce critic of PM Narendra Modi, Prakash Raj is known for his controversial remarks against the religion-centric politics being played by Modi’s BJP. He often calls Modi the “Supreme Leader” - a title given to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Last year, he did not mince his words when he said that his colleague in Hindi cinema Amitabh Bachchan is a coward. As an independent politician, Prakash Raj promises to bring citizens’ voice to Parliament.
What Are the Election Issues? The main issues that affect the commoners are missing from the election speeches being delivered by the politicians. REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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As workers and politicians in most Indian political parties do not possess sufficient communication skills, they are delivering run-of-the-mill gibberish through their speeches, social media accounts, press interactions, etc. Crucial issues such as education, environment protection, and human rights are missing from the promotional content.
Consultative Paper on Political Reforms in India People elect the candidates without analyzing their capabilities and then keep complaining during their tenures till the next elections. As the current political system in India is totally flawed, there is an urgent need to develop a new competence-based political / governance model for the country. A consultative paper suggests that the current democratic system needs a complete overhaul. REAL VOTER News Magazine on Politics in India
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Mostly poor and uneducated people vote in India. Photo: RMN News Service Key Findings ●
In its current deformed form, the democracy in India has taken the shape of parliamentary dictatorship. Now there is a need to create a system that can usher in an egalitarian society.
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A major paradox in the elections is that majority of the voters don’t elect but they reject the party that forms the government.
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Successive governments in India have leveraged democracy to their own advantage or for the benefit of a few politicians while depriving the citizens of their fundamental rights.
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Bureaucratic inefficiency is the worst form of corruption in India.
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People elect the candidates without analyzing their capabilities and then keep complaining during their tenures till the next elections.
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India is the largest country in the world that is struggling to protect the democratic fiber in the nation because the country is facing a severe leadership crisis.
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Majority of the people who adopted politics as a profession during the past 50 years are uneducated, unskilled, goons, or from the traditional political families.
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India’s sorry plight is persisting because of the flawed democratic system – which nurtures incompetence and kills talent.
[ Download the Consultative Paper: Need to Transform the Political System in India ]
Thinkable Thoughts ● It is being observed that people who vote in Indian elections are mostly poor, uneducated, and ignorant who can easily be cheated by corrupt politicians with their ad campaigns and false promises. ● The sorry plight of Indians indicates that India has already become a politically unstable banana republic with rampant lawlessness, corruption, and exploitation of the ordinary citizens.
Elections and Social Media Reactions As most social media users in India have very weak communication skills, they are not able to articulate their thoughts. Supporters of India’s two major political parties - BJP and Congress - are very aggressive on social media sites such as Facebook. While most of them have very weak communication skills, they express their views in broken English language which is largely abusive.
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Although there is a large number of discussion groups on Facebook, very few are active as the group members do not write their comments. There is also a possibility that these groups operate with fake user profiles. You can click below to read some of the social media users’ reactions on Facebook. Social Media Reactions Facebook Group 1
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Meet the Editor The editor of Real Voter news magazine Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page tech business column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group). Nowadays, for the past about 8 years, he has been running his own global news services on different subjects. He also has formed a free Education and Career Counselling Center for deserving children at a poor J.J. Colony in Dwarka, New Delhi under his NGO – RMN Foundation. He runs an exclusive community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the suffering residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice.
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He also creates and distributes a number of digital publications that cover areas such as technology, law, environment, education, corruption and transparency. He has created a comprehensive online information service to educate the Indian voters for the upcoming L ok Sabha election scheduled to happen in 2019. Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development. Contact
Rakesh Raman Raman Media Network (RMN) Company 463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, Phase I New Delhi 110 078, INDIA C ontact by email
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