Opinion: 2019 Election Was One-Sided, "Manipulation" Wouldn't Help

The 2019 general election in India was a historic event, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory, securing 303 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 353 seats, while the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), won only 52 seats, failing to get the minimum 10% required to claim the post of Leader of the Opposition. The INC-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won 91 seats, while other parties won 98 seats. 

The BJP's victory was unprecedented, as it received 37.36% of the vote share, the highest by any party since 1989. The NDA's combined vote share was 45%, while the UPA's was 25.5%. The BJP also won a disproportionate share of closely contested seats, most of them in states where it was in power at the time of the election. 

However, a recent research paper by Sabyasachi Das, an assistant professor of economics at Ashoka University, has sparked controversy by suggesting that the BJP's victory was not a result of its popularity or performance, but of electoral manipulation. Das claims that he found evidence of "electoral manipulation" such as deletion of Muslim names from voter lists, tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs), and miscounting of votes. He also alleges that the BJP targeted electoral discrimination against Muslims, who constitute about 14% of India's population. 

Das's paper has been met with criticism and backlash from various quarters, including BJP supporters, social media users, and even his own university. Ashoka University issued a statement distancing itself from Das's paper, saying that it has not been peer-reviewed or published in a reputed journal, and that it does not reflect the stand of the university.  Many academics and activists have condemned Ashoka University's statement as an attempt to stifle academic freedom and dissent. They have also questioned Das's methodology and data sources, and pointed out flaws and inconsistencies in his analysis. 

In my opinion, Das's paper is not convincing enough to prove that the BJP resorted to electoral manipulation in 2019. While I do not deny that there may have been some irregularities and errors in the electoral process, I do not think they were widespread or systematic enough to alter the outcome of the election significantly. The BJP's victory was largely due to its strong leadership, charismatic appeal, nationalist agenda, effective campaign strategy, organizational strength, and alliance formation. The INC and other opposition parties failed to offer a credible alternative or a coherent vision to the voters. They also suffered from internal divisions, leadership crises, corruption scandals, and lack of grassroots mobilization.

Moreover, Das's paper does not take into account other factors that may have influenced the voting behavior and preferences of the electorate, such as caste, class, religion, region, gender, age, education, income, media exposure, social media usage, etc. He also does not provide any comparative analysis with previous elections or other countries to support his claims. His paper relies heavily on anecdotal evidence and speculation, rather than rigorous empirical data and statistical methods.

Therefore, I think Das's paper is more of a political opinion than a scientific research. It is an attempt to discredit the BJP and undermine its legitimacy by casting doubts on its electoral victory. It is also an insult to the intelligence and wisdom of the Indian voters, who exercised their democratic right and chose their representatives freely and fairly. The 2019 election was not a case of electoral manipulation by the BJP, but a reflection of its popularity and performance among the masses.

Source: 

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(5) 2019 Canadian federal election - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Canadian_federal_election.

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(7) Explained: Row over Ashoka University prof’s study on electoral fraud .... https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/explained-row-over-ashoka-university-prof-s-study-electoral-fraud-2019-180556.

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