Results Sans Victory Celebrations
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
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-05-01 15:07:05
About the Author
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
View all posts by this Author
As the nation readies itself for another day of election-related disruption in the form of declaration of results of the recently concluded polls in four states and one UT amidst a surge in Covid cases, it has to be thankful to the courts that have prodded the Election Commission to ensure that counting day did not result in another surge. Hence we will have all Covid protocols like masking, physical distancing, no overcrowding and proper hand sanitizing at counting centres, along with a complete ban on victory rallies (only two persons are allowed to accompany the winning candidate when he or she goes to collect the MLA certificate).
The results of the exit polls are more or less in line with the final opinion polls that were published just before the first phase of the polls. Hence, the BJP-led alliance is expected to retain Assam comfortably, while the LDF is also expected to retain Kerala comfortably, where the BJP is not expected to make any impression upon the voters. In Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK will make way for the DMK and again, the BJP will bite the dust. However, in Pondicherry, the NDA is expected to come to power for the first time. It is in West Bengal that the pollsters are not agreeing with each other.
While some polls give Bengal to TMC by a wide margin, a few give it to the BJP by a thin margin while one gives it to the saffron party by a wide margin. One or two also predict a hung assembly. A poll of polls shows that the contest is wide open and a hung assembly can be the outcome of eight acrimoniously fought phases that sometimes turned violent. If that happens, the numbers being thrown about suggest that it will be a huge deadlock and the Sanjukta Morcha (Left-Congress-ISF) will not be able to play kingmakers. That would be a tragedy as it will result in MLA trading all over again.
But the votes are locked in the EVMs and the voters have always sprung a surprise on the day the results are declared. Hence, one hopes that they will provide a decisive result in Bengal and let democracy win once again. For the new government will have a huge task at hand in tackling the surge in Covid cases due to the eight phases of polling and the thousands of rallies that saw enormous crowds.
