As India gears for its seventeenth Lok Sabha elections in this year, The
announcement of National General Election 2019 ‘schedules-dates’ on March 10 by
the Election Commission of India, political parties in the state are divided
over some of the schedules that are clashing with Ramzan (May 5 – June 4, 2019).
With nearly 31% Muslim voters, election during Ramzan will become a key issue of
Bengal politics in the forthcoming days. Opposing the statements made in the
ongoing matter, the EC has said that the schedules of the 2019 polls have been
fixed keeping in mind the religious sentiments of the people – which cannot
create a hindrance in the conduct of elections.
Importantly, The Election Commission has slammed the Opposition for questioning
the dates of 2019 polls, while raising Ramzan matter. The commission condemns
such statements which can hurt the religious sentiments of the people. The
Election Commission of India (ECI) argued that the poll panel has clarified that
it has excluded the date of the main festival and Fridays from the general
election polling schedule. Further, The Election Commission also stated that
during the Lok Sabha polls are being conducted during the Ramzan but a full
month cannot be excluded.
Once the dates for an Lok Sabha Election are announced, the model code of
conduct (MCC) become operational, which bars governments from making new policy
announcements.
On the one hand, Responding to the objections raised by few political parties
about the polls overlapping with Ramzan, West Bengal BJP leader Mukul Roy
pointed out that the 2013 West Bengal panchayat polls had also coincided with
Ramzan. So that cannot be an issue, Also, BJP’s all-India minority
morcha secretary Arshad Alam argued that, It’s not written anywhere in Islam
that one has to take rest in air-conditioned rooms while fasting during Ramzan.
Nobody has complained about the 1st phase of Elections falling during Chaitra
Navaratri, but noises about Ramzan are the loudest. Figure out. Mentioned, IAS
Sanjay Dixit.
Where as on the other hand, The Trinamool Congress (TMC), the ruling party in
West Bengal, was miffed with this protracted schedule, blaming the BJP-controlled
Centre for it. Meanwhile, West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim argued that the
Central government had submitted a false report on the state’s law and order
situation, which had led to the Election Commission declaring a seven-phase
election. Both of them, the Trinamool Congress and the Congress have asked for
the state’s election schedule to be revised given that it would clash with
Ramzan, the Islamic month of fasting, which starts on May 5, this year.
Moreover, A Prominent Muslim community leaders on March 11 expressed dismay over
the Election Commission of India’s announcement to hold the Lok Sabha General
Election polls 2019 in 7 phases, with the three final phases falling in the holy
Ramadan month of fasting. And the last three phases of polling are scheduled on
May 6, May 12 and May 19. The polling in these three phases shall be conducted
for 51, 59 and 59 constituencies, respectively, as per the EC schedule unveiled
on March 10.
Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah on March 10 welcomed the announcement of
dates for the Lok Sabha elections and sought another term for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. In a series of statement, He argued that the Modi government had
dared to take bold and futuristic decisions for the welfare of 130 crore
Indians. It has struck at the root of corruption and celebrated honesty .
The government will ensure India’s giant leap, where everyone will be happy and
prosperous, . "The Modi government’s efforts to eliminate poverty have shown
transformational results. Under the visionary leadership of Modi, India has
emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world", Amit shah mentioned.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor
Firhad Hakim argued that, People will face problems in exercising their
voting rights as some poll dates are clashing with Ramzan. Since the Election
Commission is a constitutional body, I don’t want to comment much in to the
matter. But they should have considered that people will suffer during Ramzan
(in casting votes). The seven-phase election will be highly inconvenient
for the minority population in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal as the election dates co-incide with the month of Ramzan, Firhad Hakim
mentioned.
However, Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM chief on voting during Ramzan said, This whole
controversy is totally uncalled for & unnecessary. I would earnestly request
those political parties that please don’t use the Muslim community & Ramzan for
whatever reasons you have. (1/2). AIMIM chief Owaisi on March 11 argued that
elections during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan would have no impact on the
voter turnout and slammed the political parties for raking up a controversy over
this. The Hyderabad MP hoped that the poll percentage will be higher during
Ramzan as more Muslims will go out and vote due to the high degree of
spirituality they experience during the fasting month.
At the same time, Maharashtra Congress Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai said that
it is surprising how the EC failed to consider this aspect and urged it to
examine if suitable modifications in the dates can be made. Muslims
usually go out and vote in large numbers, but this time given the constraints of
fasting plus the severe heat in May they may be reluctant to step out and
exercise their franchise. If someone faints or collapses in the long queues, who
will be responsible, Hussain Dalwai asserted. Echoing similar sentiments,
Nationalist Congress Party Rajya Sabha MP Majeed Memon has asserted that,
It was desirable that such a clash could have been avoided by the EC,
elaborating that the Ramadan month schedules are known in advance.
Although it may not be feasible to change the poll schedules at this stage, we
request the EC to issue directions to all polling chiefs and at least permit
separate queues for all fasting Muslims at polling stations so that they can
cast their votes quickly and return, Memon mentioned.
Following the reports, All India Ulema Council general secretary Maulana Mehmood
Daryabadi mentioned that, several Muslims have expressed concern over the poll
schedules in Ramadan and said they would be grateful if the EC could grant some
minor concessions, including shades outside the polling stations, to enable
maximum number of Muslim participate in the election process. While Markazul
Ma’arif Education Research Society Director Maulana Burhanuddin Qasmi apprehends
it may not be feasible to change the dates or even have separate queues during
elections, now. Judging from the community’s initial reactions from
different states, it seems likely that the turnout of Muslim voters may be
drastically hit.
Samajwadi Party state President Abu Asim Azmi said while the voters would be hit
badly, even the political parties shall be affected as their entire chunk of
Muslim cadre will withdraw from the rigorous campaign work during the holy
fasting month. The final three phases shall be held for constituencies in
Jammu & amp; Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, West
Bengal, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh.
Obviously, our Muslim cadres will not come out for party work as they fast
during the day and pray almost the entire night, .
Especially since women and senior citizens will not be able to stand for hours
in the blistering heat, Qasmi stated. Though Maharashtra Muslims will vote
in the month of April, concerns have come from the the minority population in
the 169 constituencies across the country which will vote in the final three
phases. Despite all of this, Other Muslim activists feel it is strange how the
EC – which has considered all aspects like examinations or local festivals – did
not take into account the Ramadan month which could keep the minority voters
away from polling booths and probably give an edge to certain parties,
especially in constituencies where the Muslim votes are crucial.
Notably, EC also appoints three special observers for Jammu and Kashmir: The
Election Commission (EC) has formed a three-member committee to assess the
situation on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir before it takes a decision about
holding the Assembly elections in the troubled state. Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said on March 10, the three members of the
committee are two retired IAS officers Noor Mohammed and Vinod Zutshi and a
retired IPS officer, A.S. Gill. Mr Arora said the Commission will be
regularly and on a real-time basis monitoring the situation in the state
and the decision of holding Assembly elections will be taken soon .
Despite the controversy, Country will vote for the 17th Lok Sabha Election 2019
in 7 phases from 11 April to 19 May. The counting of votes will take place on
May 23 and result will be declared on the same date as per the Lok Sabha
election 2019 schedule announced by the Election Commission of India on March
10. India's CEC Sunil Arora argued that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come
into force as it announced the dates for the elections to 17th Lok Sabha. The
code is in place to ensure a level playing field for all the contesting
candidates and political parties.
This year, Over 1.5 crore electors in 18-19 year age group will be eligible to
vote for the first time in the seven-phased Lok Sabha election beginning April
11 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling upon them to vote in record
numbers. These voters in the age group of 18-19 years constitute 1.66 per cent
of the of the total electorate. All citizens who turned 18 on January 1 this
year and registered as electors will get opportunity to cast their vote in
upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The elections are being held for 543
out of the 545 Lok Sabha seats. The remaining two seats are reserved for the
Anglo-Indian community which are nominated by the President. Approximately 10
lakh polling stations, one lakh more than in 2014, will be set up and a total of
17.4 lakh VVPATs will be used with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all
polling stations. The Election Commission of India Sunil Arora has
attempted a very comprehensive preparation for the conduct of the election .
On the challenges facing the Election Commission in conducting the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections, role of money power is the biggest challenge
to free and fair elections in India. Maintaining that the role of money
power is the biggest challenge to free and fair elections in India, Former
Chief CEC Dr SY Quraishi says that while politicians are supposed to be
representing the people, electoral bonds have enabled the corporate to run the
country. Quraishi, who has just published a book titled The Great March
of Democracy: Seven Decades of India’s Elections said that there is
much to celebrate as India proved the skeptics wrong by emerging as a
secular and pluralistic democracy.
No party has accepted these hackathon challenges. Instead, they peddle
conspiracies to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of voters, thus undermining
democracy .. It is in this context that Ex-CEC strongly advocate state
funding of political parties and a blanket ban on all corporate donations. Such
drastic measures are called for, as the problem is becoming worse with every
election cycle, . Contemporary issues, such as the corrupting influence of money
and the creeping criminalization in politics, have been addressed, as have been
the electoral reforms proposed by experts on these subjects.
On the polling schedules issue, Ex-CEC said, There has been ample speculation
about election dates, with some even casting aspersions on the Election
Commission of India’s (EC’s) neutrality in determining the dates. These
speculations disregard that EC has to do due diligence of a mind-boggling array
of arrangements to tie up before it initiates the election process. At the same
time, governments have to be mindful of public perception. Why keep
announcements for absolute last minute when the approximate schedule is neither
a matter of astrology nor rocket science? Jeopardizing EC’s image is
unacceptable. Finally, the announcement. The timing is extremely significant as
the model code of conduct kicks in the moment the schedule is announced. The
government is prohibited from announcing new schemes, new postings and
transfers, and using government resources for campaigning.
Author: Trilok Singh, MA in Political Science, Kirori Mal College,
University of Delhi. Author is a Popular Youth Icon, Professional-Scholar and
CEO at Youth Darpan Media, India's Journal, Seva A2Z and IAS mind.
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