The Lok Sabha elections of 2024 have sent a message to everyone, especially to the West, that India’s democracy is healthy, and to the Global South that democracy still works
Table of Contents
The Global Significance of Indian Elections
The elections became incumbent for the world because of the position of India on the global platform. Habituated to PM Narendra Modi as the face representing the foreign policy of India, the world wondered if any coalition government would nudge Modi’s focus towards internal politics. This, however does not seem likely as the foreign policy of India usually gets the nod from all parties irrespective of affiliation, and Modi’s performance at the international level does not point to anything really game-changing in happening unless something dramatically changes.
Western Perception and Criticism
Indian elections don’t involve domestic politics alone; they change global perceptions. Be it the judicial process or timing of elections or even on the veracity of the electoral process, India faced flak many a time from the Western nations. Much to the surprise of all critics, the recent elections proved that democracy in India is vibrant and strong. The majority reduction was accepted by the ruling party without violence or electoral fraud accusations—a pointer to the coming of age of Indian democracy. Both the ruling party and opposition accepted the verdict of the election, even as they expressed apprehensions during the polling process.
India’s Democratic Standing: A Global Perspective
Recent times have seen a number of jolting criticisms concerning India’s democratic standing. Whereas India came out to be the 27th on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s EIU Democracy Index in 2014, in 2023 it slipped down to 41 with the label of a “flawed democracy.” The Sweden-based V-Dem Institute went one step ahead and labeled India an “electoral autocracy” in 2018.
These labels have been questioned by the result of the present election. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won just 37% of the vote, incomparable to the staggering majorities one finds in actual autocracies, in which the leaders of Russia and Iran claimed enormous majorities of 87% and 72%, respectively. The contrast reveals just how democratic India’s elections really were, standing vis-à-vis Western attempts to equate India with such regimes.
Indian Voters: A Model of Democratic Maturity
Different parts of the election results across constituencies in India reflect the maturity of Indian voters. For example, while all seven parliamentary constituencies have gone into the pocket of BJP in Delhi, the state assembly continues to show a majority for the Aam Aadmi Party. Another example is that of Karnataka, wherein despite the majority coming to power in the Lok Sabha by BJP, it is the Congress which came to power in the state the previous year.
Odissa shows a similar story where BJP won the parliamentary polls though the state assembly election went in favour of the opposition. The following examples indicate the capacity of the Indian electorate for distinguishing among different levels of government, dismantling thereby one guiding principle about the gullibility of the Indian voter.
A Message to West and Global South
Sophisticated voting behavior of the Indian electorate sends a clear and loud message to all western critics: in terms, democracy in India is alive, flourishing, and hopeful. The West needs to learn to stop underestimating Indian voters and respect the democratic process within India. If anything, it is the case of the Indian elections which stands inspirational to the Global South in demonstrating that democracy can do very well outside traditional Western contexts. Now, at world-time—when democracy everywhere is in retreat—the recent elections to India’s Parliament reiterate with sharp clarity a simple lesson: that democracy still remains the best form of government, and has within itself the capacity to thrive in the most diverse settings.
Resilience of Indian Democracy
It only strengthened the power and resilience of India’s democracy by peaceful acceptance of the results, the maturity of the electorate, and an unmistakable message being sent especially to the West and the South that it is very much alive amidst attacks on democracy hitting from all sides across the world.
