PM's speeches betray "more than nervousness but worry and concern": the author and columnist, Neerja Chowdhury, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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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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