In the political debates nowadays, we are seeing a lot of reference to the terms like “electoral autocracy” or “authoritarian democracy, ” which are used to capture the contradictory nature of modern state, whereby the imposition of authoritarian rule is somewhat concealed by the mere form of voting. Yet, this notion falling under this notion better corresponds to the label that we can call electoral fascism.
In countries like India, the present political line is not only a change but a total departure from the constitutional setup of those founding leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Unfortunately, the ever-rising public indifference and political skepticism have made this transformation a matter of standard practice. Even the main democratic values of freedom, liberty, and institutions’ support are often treated as mere empty slogans.
For the authoritarian factions, such a high level of public disengagement with civic matters is their jackpot. By disguising themselves as democrats and following the electoral process, they are not using these tools for giving power to people but turning them into the means of global rule, where nobody can stand their way or even be able to examine their use of the country’s assets and decide on its future.
The Blueprint of Total Control
The modern fascist strategy is not about staging a military coup any more. It’s a carefully planned, extremely well-funded electoral offensive to take control of all aspects of state power. One of the tactics is turning democratic institutions into weapons.
- In the political debates nowadays, we are seeing a lot of reference to the terms like “electoral autocracy” or “authoritarian democracy, ” which are used to capture the contradictory nature of modern state, whereby the imposition of authoritarian rule is somewhat concealed by the mere form of voting. Yet, this notion falling under this notion better corresponds to the label that we can call electoral fascism.
- In countries like India, the present political line is not only a change but a total departure from the constitutional setup of those founding leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Unfortunately, the ever-rising public indifference and political skepticism have made this transformation a matter of standard practice. Even the main democratic values of freedom, liberty, and institutions’ support are often treated as mere empty slogans.
- For the authoritarian factions, such a high level of public disengagement with civic matters is their jackpot. By disguising themselves as democrats and following the electoral process, they are not using these tools for giving power to people but turning them into the means of global rule, where nobody can stand their way or even be able to examine their use of the country’s assets and decide on its future.
- The Blueprint of Total Control
- Weaponizing State Elections: Bengal and Assam
- The EVM Controversy: The Karbi Anglong Anomaly
- The Fatal Disconnect of the Opposition
- While the ruling class ruthlessly seeks to claim total power, the political opposition chiefly the Indian National Congress has not even recognized the life-threatening dimension of this crisis.
- The opposition suffers greatly from their lack of understanding about the situation at the grassroots level. Many of the leaders act as if they are entitled elites, running politics as a business rather than a service to the people. They do not get the economic problems of the working and middle classes on a daily basis.
- When they finally try to make alliances or decide on a common minimum program, that is usually after the time is over.
- The opposition’s failure to recognize electoral fascism is the surest way to their defeat. They are under the impression that they are dealing with a usual political opponent, totally ignoring Really the ruling powers see elections simply as a means to overthrow the Constitution and to establish their dominance forever.
- The Path to Democratic Renewal
For instance, a case in point is the spotlight on the Election Commission of India (ECI). Some people say that instead of being a fair umpire, ECI now acts as a partner of the ruling group. At the same time, it looks like the court is becoming less willing to check the decisions of the government or the elections.
By threatening or dismantling these independent organs like changing how ECI commissioners are picked authoritarian forces align the law with their political game. It is best to keep up the pretense of lawfulness so that the people remain unaware while democracy is secretly taken apart.
Weaponizing State Elections: Bengal and Assam
The strategy of electoral fascism is starkly visible at the regional level. In West Bengal, an opposition stronghold, the national ruling party used all the power of the central government to the fullest extent. Campaign tactics included fierce polarization, huge financial investments, and the use of central agencies.
In addition, there were accusations that the ECI randomly removed millions of opposition voters from the rolls while adding hundreds of thousands of ruling party supporters. Even if the opposition was able to resist, the wide range of institutional manipulations really left the political environment challenged.
Assam is an even clearer example of electoral engineering. The ECI-directed recent delimitation, an exercise aimed at redrawing constituencies, received such a level of criticism that it was termed a ‘gerrymandering masterclass.’ In a completely illogical manner, constituencies were redrawn as to disintegrate the concentration of opposition voters and to strengthen the base of the ruling party. Despite the opposition’s court challenges, the judges mostly decided not to take any action.
Besides on the level of institutional manipulation, the ruling government in Assam went for state-voter bribery, as per the critics. Under pressure from the public and facing a bad economy, the government heavily funded the handing out of money through many welfare programs just before the election time. Besides that, some highly debated moves by state electoral officials like permitting people from other states to suddenly vote in Assam truly damaged the idea of fair electoral processes in the region.
The EVM Controversy: The Karbi Anglong Anomaly
Although there were huge public rallies supporting the opposition and clear anti-incumbency sentiment, the election results were greatly in favor of the ruling party. This contrast between the general public’s feelings and the election results has led to strong doubts about the honesty of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
A good example is in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. Before the elections, there was tons of public outrage over the illegal transfer of tribal lands to big companies which was against the constitutional safeguards. The ruling district council was heavily criticized and this even led to militant protests and the opposition tribal leaders organizing their communities.
Actually, this massive anger should have led to the incumbent party being totally defeated in the elections. Rather, the ruling candidate got an amazing 75% of the vote. These kinds of ridiculous results are a great source of anecdotal evidence for the supporters of the view that electoral procedures are being technologically and systematically manipulated.
The Fatal Disconnect of the Opposition
While the ruling class ruthlessly seeks to claim total power, the political opposition chiefly the Indian National Congress has not even recognized the life-threatening dimension of this crisis.
The opposition suffers greatly from their lack of understanding about the situation at the grassroots level. Many of the leaders act as if they are entitled elites, running politics as a business rather than a service to the people. They do not get the economic problems of the working and middle classes on a daily basis.
When they finally try to make alliances or decide on a common minimum program, that is usually after the time is over.
The opposition’s failure to recognize electoral fascism is the surest way to their defeat. They are under the impression that they are dealing with a usual political opponent, totally ignoring Really the ruling powers see elections simply as a means to overthrow the Constitution and to establish their dominance forever.
The Path to Democratic Renewal
It is not possible to defeat electoral fascism only by court decisions or by using corrupted ballot boxes. A real revival of democracy comes from a popular awakening.
The people should no longer be treated as passive beneficiaries of political welfare but should instead rediscover their position as main actors in the state. For the Constitution to be upheld, the opposition should lose its pride, come together without any conditions, and bring the battle to the streets.
Electoral fascism can only be defeated by a continuous popular movement and a deep re-thinking of democratic unity.
