It's an exciting time. India is in the midst of choosing its new government — and how the country decides to vote will have far-reaching consequences for both India and the world.
There's a maddening amount of information to process and it's hard to keep track of the thousands of stories as the election cycle reaches a fever pitch. Enter: Indelible Ink. In this newsletter, I will attempt to condense some of the most important, credible, and varied news from different parts of the country and deliver it to your inbox every Sunday morning (Indian Standard Time).
This newsletter will steer clear of biases, and all comments, suggestions, and questions are welcome. Come along for the ride!
The Big Deal
Indian political parties have a long and consistent history of fielding candidates with criminal records that would raise red flags in any HR screening for a job. Luckily for politicians, they don't have to worry about it like us regular folk. Last election, a third of the politicians Indians voted to power had criminal charges against them, and the country's highest court has said it can't do anything to ban criminals from politics unless they are convicted (and these cases could drag on for decades).
Yet, even in this shocking state of affairs, the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party to name Pragya Singh Thakur — a woman accused in the 2008 Malegaon terror blasts, currently out on bail — as the party's candidate from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh is jaw-dropping. This is the first time in India's history that a terror accused has been chosen as a parliamentary candidate. Thakur has earlier worked in the student wing of the BJP's ideological parent organisation, the RSS. It's not the first time that her name has come up in a terror case. However, the Prime Minister's response to criticism of Thakur has been to equate it with criticism of Hinduism, calling the decision to give a party ticket to Thakur a "symbol" in response to those who call Hinduism "terrorist".
No matter where you stand on the ideological spectrum, this development is of serious concern. Imagine for a minute that a person from a different religious community, accused in a terror plot, was given support from a political party to run for office. Would the inevitable outcry be because of the person's religious beliefs, or simply the fact that a person being investigated for terrorism was campaigning to become a lawmaker? A decision like this by any political party has implications for all voters and the democratic process.
Voting trends show that there is little incentive to stop propping up candidates with questionable antecedents. And it's a slippery slope that can — and does — have profound psychological impact on Indian voters. It becomes immaterial if the fielded candidate actually wins votes. The damage has been done — it tells a country and all its citizens that you could be accused of heinous crimes against humanity, and still gain legitimacy from elected lawmakers.
Voter Meter
Two out of the seven voting phases for this election have already been concluded. That's 188 of the 543 constituencies. The first two phases of voting included constituencies in 23 states in mostly northeast and southeast India, as well as a few in northern India. Voter turnout was promising — almost 70 percent of registered voters cast their ballot in both phases. In one case, Washington Post journalist Niha Masih reported how election officials travelled 300 kilometres for four days to set up a polling booth for a single voter in the mountanious region of Arunachal Pradesh.
The third phase of voting will be the single largest of all the phases. On Tuesday, 23 April, 115 constituencies from 14 states primarily in western and southern India will go to polls. This would include all constituencies of Gujarat and Kerala, as well as several parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Here's a handy map journalist Harry Stevens created to keep track of the upcoming election phase:
One political leader to watch out for will be 25-year-old Hardik Patel, who has emerged as a young leader of the Patidar community, and is campaigning for the Congress party in Gujarat. Patel was disqualified from contesting in the election because he was convicted for his involvement in a riot in 2015. Yet, his campaigning for the Congress might help bring votes for the party. Though the state has historically seen close contests between BJP and Congress, the last national election was a resounding success for the BJP, with all 26 constituencies voting for the saffron party.
Meanwhile in Kerala, where Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) enjoy the most popularity, the BJP is attempting to make inroads by opposing the hot-button issue of women's entry into the Sabarimala temple. India's Supreme Court allowed women entry into the temple last year, but the decision has sparked protests by a section of Hindu devotees.
One Cool Thing
The Indian election is the largest democratic process in the world — and in a country of 900 million voters, the news coverage is equally unrelenting and varied. A group of computational designers is visualising how news about the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is covered. Which leaders are in the news the most? What's the buzz on social media? What election issues are being talked about? Their project throws up fascinating insight into the madness that is Indian election news.
Indelible Ink is a carefully curated summary of news stories on the 2019 Indian national election. Delivered each Sunday morning right to your inbox. Subscribe to Indelible Ink here.
Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter misstated that Hardik Patel was a candidate for the Congress party in this election. He was offered a ticket, but was disqualified from contesting because of his conviction in a rioting case related to the Patidar quota protests in 2015. He is still campaigning for Congress. I regret the error.