Five Indian states went to election recently They are west Bengal, puducherry Kerela, Tamil nadu and Assam Assam. Name the main political parties that contester the election
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The unprecedented Covid-19 shutdown briefly interrupted political activity, but politics as such did not come to a standstill. In 2020, dissent found a louder voice than had been heard in the recent past, and arguments and clashes of ideology turned more raucous and bitter.
The year began with multitudes on the streets against the divisive CAA and NRC — protests that ended in bloodshed in Delhi. The pandemic took over but the government’s handling of the crisis divided the polity once again. The Chinese aggression triggered heated debate before India entered election mode again. The so-called “love jihad” laws and the tragic incident in Hathras brought forth outrage and anger. And as the year wound down, thousands of people were on the streets again, demanding the withdrawal of the new farm laws.
2020 started and is ending on a stormy note — and 2021 may be no different.
The deadlock over the farmers’ agitation continues — and it remains to be seen whether these protests will put other sectors too in agitation mode against the government’s seemingly high-handed approach towards issues of popular concern. The Budget session of Parliament could witness — and reflect — the social and economic anxieties that had been bottled up under the pandemic curbs.
The Assembly election in West Bengal and other states could bring important indications, and the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine could kick up new controversies. As the year enters its second half, the drumbeat of the battle for Uttar Pradesh in early 2022 will get louder and more frenzied.
Leaderless agitations, powered by mobilisation on the Internet
The BJP-led government’s political and administrative moves — the effective abrogation of Article 370, and the passage of the triple talaq, citizenship amendment, and farm sector laws — as well as the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic has bared the social and economic anxieties of large sections of the population.
The nationwide anti-CAA protests and the ongoing farmers’ agitation at the borders of Delhi, although directed against the central government, have appeared to be crowd-sourced in nature and shape — and have reflected an ambivalence towards established opposition political parties. The palpable leaderlessness of the popular sentiment in both these major recent agitations contrasts with the anti-corruption movement during the UPA 2 regime, which had a clear leadership.
This aspect has, in fact, been in evidence for some time now — in the previous term of the Narendra Modi government, it was reflected in the spontaneous and largely leaderless Dalit protests that broke out in several parts of the country against the Supreme Court’s ruling that diluted the SC/ST prevention of atrocities Act. The government had then responded quickly to defuse the crisis.
Again, the amplification of the #MeToo discourse was the outcome of a largely leaderless popular push that resulted in the resignation of a Union Minister. Where the anti-CAA and farmers’ protests are different though, is in their manifest tenacity and willingness to play the long game.
While the ruling dispensation has sought to blame the Opposition for these protests, the fact that the protests have managed to sustain themselves without core support from the Opposition political parties is significant. The established political institutions — both on the ruling and Opposition sides — will be assessing this new trend, which is likely to not only survive, but thrive with the proliferation of Internet-enabled mobile phones across the country.
The similarly leaderless #BlackLivesMatter mobilisation ahead of the presidential election in the United States indicated the global spread of the trend of impromptu mobilisation of communities and groups using mobile phones, to give collective expression to their frustration. As new stresses emerge in post-pandemic society worldwide, more of this is likely to be seen everywhere.
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