PM’s Speeches Betray “More Than Nervousness But Also Worry and Concern”
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Published 2024-04-26
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Neerja Chowdhury, who is presently covering her eleventh Lok Sabha election and is a star columnist for the Indian Express, says the PM’s election speeches over the last six days betray “more than nervousness but also worry and concern” about the way the BJP’s campaign and earlier messages to the electorate have been received. Neerja Chowdhury also says that many, if not most, of the people she has met during her tours of constituencies have said this is not a Hindu-Muslim election and are variously surprised, shaken, shocked at the anti-Muslim rhetoric the Prime Minister seems to have made the staple of his discourse in the last few days.
In a 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Neerja Chowdhury, who is the author of the best-selling blockbuster “How Prime Ministers Decide”, also said that reports she has received suggest that the BJP is concerned and worried by the significant dip in the turnout during the first round of elections. Her tours suggest that whilst Muslims have voted in very large numbers, Hindus, particularly those who are thought to vote BJP, have been slow if not somewhat reluctant to turnout. She says this seems to be a Modi vs ‘local issues’ election.
In the interview to The Wire, Neerja Chowdhury says “all eyes are on the Election Commission of India not just in India but worldwide”. She says how they respond to the allegations against the Prime Minister has become a test of the independence and credibility of the Election Commission. This is further emphasized by the fact that even after receiving yesterday’s (Thursday’s) notice the Prime Minister, both in Malda and Araria, has continued to speak the same rhetoric and that is, obviously, a sort of defiance of the Election Commission.
I am only giving you a few of the main points made by Neerja Chowdhury. She is an extremely experienced and insightful journalist with a deep and profound understanding of elections and, in particular, how voters respond to politicians. There is, therefore, a lot that you will learn by watching the full interview. I strongly encourage you to do so. At this point, when the second day of voting is happening, you cannot do better than hear Neerja to understand what seems to be happening on the ground and how voters are behaving. This also explains, in turn, the behaviour and rhetoric of the BJP.
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All Comments (21)
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Sad that we have a PM who is polarising India
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With these speeches, the party is isolating a community and going against their own slogan "sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas".
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This could be the beginning of the end for this communal minded party. They forget the fact that everyone who climbs the Everest can't stay there for ever but need to descend. It's a disgrace for the nation when the PM himself speaks in this manner. Sorry state of affairs.
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Whether BJP wins or loses, Modi has created a Bhasmasur for himself by uttering such heinous, noxious and unconstitutional words. He has alienated the Muslim for ever.
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Election commission is acting like an impotent
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Sir problem is most of the educated people are pro Modi . And rest of the population are hypnotized . And I believe this image of Modi is not like a house of cards that will comedown automatically. Opposition ko ghar ghar jaa k samjana padega. This is what i believe .
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As ECI officials have proved to be spineless, Supreme Court should take Suo Motu action against ECI as well as the supreme leader. Sad days to witness the nation being destroyed and torn apart on communal lines.
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Pls save Manipur our future is at risk we can't imagine our future it's the question of our survival
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We are ASHAMED by PM’s fascist remark.
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How can a hate monger like him remain as PM. He deserves to be tried and punished. He is proving Mani shankar Aiyyar right.
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Remove Modi, Amit Shah and RSS head. Then the country is safe.
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Remove BJP save democracy
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Modi is the mastermind of Pulwama
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Mainly shows that we have person of poor character as PM. The BJP has become known as the washing machine party.
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When ECs are selected by the ruling party, how can we expect free and fair elections? Are we so naive?
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I am a proud Indian Muslim. I don't feel any crushed or ignored or second class citizen because the person who is abusing the Muslims has lost his mental balance for fear of loosing .rest assured we are not that soft target who will get affected. We are made of very tough stuff. Have a look around the world & in India see our young Muslim female journalists working in such conditions.
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Self defeat for BJP for derogatory remarks against Muslims our people . Silence of Muslims is deciding factor in this election.
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She never criticises those in power. In fact, her columns read like Tavleen Singh’s and Shekhar Gupta’s these days. We used to look up to these people at one time.
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"Enduring legacy of Hate". Its not the first time he has made derogatory comments about a "certain" community.
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Neera choudhary is cautious and is scared of modi.
