oppn parties Delhi Election Campaign: Extreme Polarization

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
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  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Delhi Election Campaign: Extreme Polarization

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-02-05 18:23:57

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

It is clear from the way the BJP is conducting its campaign in the Delhi elections that it is using the CAA-NRC-NPR protests across the country and especially at Shaheen Bagh and Jamia in the capital to further polarize the votes. From the day Prime Minister Modi had said that it was clear who was protesting against the CAA from their clothes, all leaders in the BJP have sought to paint the protests as being a Muslim thing. It helps their cause immensely as these protests, all across India, have erupted in essentially Muslim-dominated areas.

Yet, the way the narrative is being hijacked to sound like a "we versus them" issue is fraught with danger. The hatred that is being spewed at protesters in Shaheen Bagh, as also elsewhere in India, does not bode well for the relationship between communities in India. It also finally debunks the "sabka saath, sabka vikas" model as a part of the Indian population is repeatedly being labeled as "gaddars" for having the 'temerity' to oppose a government policy.

There is a huge difference between real nationalism and nationalism as perceived by the BJP which it wants all Indians to follow. Nationalism is caring for the nation and not for the party in power. Opposing a government policy can never be equated with opposing the nation for governments come and go with time and policies keep changing but the nation is above all this. It is the lowest form of divisive tactic to make hatred against a particular community the main plank of a state election.

It is also doubtful whether the BJP will be able to reap the electoral dividend from this. As successive opinion polls show, AAP is likely to retain Delhi on the strength of the work it has done. That is as it should be. State elections should be fought on the basis of governance records. The BJP might find solace in the fact that these opinion polls also show that it has increased its vote share phenomenally (thus proving that there are takers for its line of thought) and that it would have won all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi again if general elections were held now. But that should not embolden it to divide India like it is seeking to do.

 

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