In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voters are unenthused, or as they say in North India–“thanda”. The weather is too hot. And the election season is far too long. Mainstream media is drumming up an artificial orchestra, but across cities and villages, the dominant mood is weariness and indifference.
No wonder the Election Mantri-sorry-Pradhan Mantri, Narendra Modi, has decided that the only way to galvanise an apathetic electorate–which is no longer chanting “abki baar char sau paar” or “ghar ghar Modi”–is to unleash the weapons of mass distraction.
In strident tones, he’s playing the politics of fear. One day he announces that the Congress manifesto is like the Muslim League. The next day he plays doomsayer and declares that the Congress will snatch away women’s mangalsutras. And the third day, he warns that Congress will redistribute everyone’s wealth to Muslims.
