Rupture of a Quiet Resistance

Ashutosh's Reclaiming Bharat offers a sharp, insider's account of India's 2024 general elections—decoding why BJP's dominance stalled despite unrelenting religious optics, and uncovering the democratic resilience pulsating beneath the surface. Excerpts:

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If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country... Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.

—Dr BR Ambedkar

This is just a miracle. On 4 June, after participating in an election debate, I spoke to a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader outside the TV studio. He said, 'Till the first two phases of polling in UP, we were neither very hopeful nor speaking much. But when we saw the response to Rahul's speeches, we realised that the weather has changed, and we have a fair chance. Then we got into aggressive mode. This was the day when the miracle happened, and UP was the talk of the town. Most unexpectedly, voters had given a verdict against BJP in a state where—the party was convinced—it couldn't be defeated. By noon, BJP found itself struggling to get even 35 seats. The news of the day was that the almighty, omnipotent, divinely ordained prime minister could barely win in Varanasi, the very city in which he had pompously announced that 'Mother Ganga has called me and adopted me'. Modi finally won by 1.52 lakh votes.

I can't name the SP leader, as we were engaged in an informal chat, but I was immediately reminded of a conversation I had with another SP leader over phone. This was in January 2024. The Ram Mandir consecration had not yet taken place, and from streets to TV studios, the saffron wave was turning into a tsunami. Bharatiya Janata Party's massive victory had been declared inevitable, and the opposition was disheartened.