Elections 2024: Historic for the Constitution that unites us all?
The Indian Constitution—or the Samvidhan in Hindi—has rarely if ever been a campaign spearhead for national elections. This time, though, poll speeches have brought it up with a frequency that may suggest a deep divide over it. The irony: Both archrivals in the country’s electoral fray, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, have accused each other of planning to twist it for partisan ends.
The issue at stake is affirmative action. The BJP has picked up the Congress slogan of proportional quotas (for jobs and education) to allege its rival will re-allot existing provisions to religious minorities in violation of the statute’s caste criterion. In contrast, the Congress-led opposition has used perceptions of BJP comfort with an ancient caste hierarchy to fan lower-caste fears of reservations being dropped at upper-caste behest.
Half-truths being weaponized for attacks on straw-men are politics as usual. What’s true is that this year’s electoral result will probably pivot on the votes of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), as it did in 2014 and 2019. Quota-endowed OBCs constitute the bulk of India, evidently.
Moreover, the BJP’s vote-share gains can be attributed largely to OBC favour and the opposition’s hopes rest broadly on reversing that trend. This is identity politics as usual. The silver lining, however, is this: With poll-rally rhetoric on both sides broadly in support of the Constitution, 2024 marks a signal moment of stability in how ‘We the People’ have chosen to govern ourselves.
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