After BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections and emerged with an overwhelming majority, Twitter was flooded with ‘what next’s. Is it time for Congress to reinvent themselves? Has the Left been obliterated? What about Aam Aadmi Party? Is India in dire need of a stronger Opposition?
But the main concern was this: that an educationist like Atishi Marlena was rejected and terror-accused Pragya Thakur won by a large majority. What do these trends say about India?
The Idea of ‘New India’
“First time we are sending a terror accused to Parliament. How to gloat over Pakistan now,” tweeted actress Swara Bhasker.
Other tweeple said that voting in a terror-accused to Parliament to make laws for the country is the “true face of India in big 2019.”
One Twitter user also mentioned Maneka Gandhi and Sakshi Maharaj, and that they won despite issuing threats and curses to get votes.
Fact-checker Uzair Hasan Rizvi said the terror-accused who stoked controversy by calling Nathuram Godse – the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi – a ‘patriot’, won by a margin of over 300,000 votes. “Thakur will now be a lawmaker in India,” he wrote.
Modi supporters dismissed these ‘liberal’ arguments. “They are calling it doomsday and india and ‘idea of india’ story is finished etc etc”, said on Twitter user and went ahead to slam those who found fault with the people’s mandate.
‘New India’ and the Economy
Twitter user Anupam Guha said people don’t care about the economy. “He [Modi] won a massive mandate despite a shit economy. People don't care. Tyrion was right. Just give them a good story,” he tweeted.
Other Twitter users agreed with him. One tweeted that “Price rise, corruption, unemployment, lack of education, no healthcare, agrarian distress, MSP, water woes, increasing crime etc won’t be considered ‘issues’ anymore. They will be considered as achievements. Social activists should give up chasing justice for persecuted,” implying that economic issues did not influence the voter this time.
Researcher Neelanjan Sircar said voters like Modi and “have variously supported him for development, jobs, standing up to terrorism. The don’t support Modi because of issues; it is the other way around,” he tweeted.
India used to vote its caste, now it votes its religion. “Which one is better,” asked one Twitter user.
Election results show that Congress has been murdered, said journalist Shivam Vij. “Congress was standing between Fascism & India's survival. The institutions are being murdered,” another user tweeted in response.
New India Rejects Dynasts?
Writer Minhaz Merchant said India’s voters have sent Congress a clear message, “the age of entitlement is over.”
But journalist Sreenivasan Jain said the new India, the one without dynastic politics, is a myth. “Jagan won. Naveen Patnaik won. Every single BJP dynast from Poonam Mahajan to Varun/Maneka Gandhi won. But.. 'dynasty is dead', 'new India' et al. Spare me the BS.”
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