BJP's "rural defeat" in Gujarat local polls: Reason lay in people's direct experience of local administration

By Jatin Sheth*
Bihar still represents rural India as urbanization is much less. There, the BJP lost elections. Similarly, in rural Gujarat, BJP lost heavily in district and taluka (block) panchayat. The following could be the reason: The government allocates large budget spending for rural area. Most of the population falls under beneficiary category. So, almost all people have direct interactions with local government and their officers.

Clearly, people in the rural areas have a better perspective of government and its functioning than their counterpart living in urban areas. They have to suffer insult and injustice everyday. They have to pay hefty bribes for claiming their money government has allocated for them. Take the case of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

Most often, those who work under NREGS don't get full wages. Part of it has to be paid towards bribe to get maximum days work. They don't get adequate ration, and quality is also poor. There are several schemes meant for their benefits and therefore they have to regularly interact with the government. They are smart enough to know the corrupt but helpless.
During my work in tribal areas, I have noticed that, everyday, some or the other village leader has to go to taluka office, which is often 50 km or more from the village, almost everyday to make one or the other claim for the people. The real beneficiaries would hardly received 50% of the amount of what they are supposed to get. Political workers manage to get the maximum amount -- often 2 to 3 times what they are genuinely supposed to get.
During my personal visit as a member of a fact-finding team of civil society in a village near Deesa, Banaskantha district, the team observed that the people who had really lost their houses in heavy rains and floods had received petty amounts of Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000, though papers showed that the sanctioned amount was Rs 25,000.

These were ordinary people not associated with the ruling party, BJP. However, some of the influential persons associated with the ruling party got cheques of Rs 90,000, and not only that. Three or four members of the same family living together got the same amount. That means that the influential family received lakhs of rupees.
As for urban areas, citizens do not experience any direct interface with the government. Urban people are easily influenced by media and swayed away by lies of politicians. Most urban citizens do not know any of the candidates, when they go for voting. However, in the rural area, citizens know their candidates personally, because they have to take their help to claim their benefits.
The election results suggest that it is a myth to believe that the urban voter is smarter than the rural voter, whom we call illiterate.
---
Convener, Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch, Ahmedabad

Comments

Mahesh said…

This is extremely thought provoking article to me..I just heard NaMo Live in Silicon Valley during his recent visit to USA and was really impressed at his vocabulary and statistics he was showering all over the Audience.Most of us were literally mesmerised..However after reading these facts,from the article (Which only appears to be a tip of the Iceberg), my impressions have started taking a U turn.Slowly but Steadily,I have started digesting that "All that glitters is NOT gold ".

Author deserves appreciation for smartly differentiating between smarter and so called illiterate voters.
Mahesh Shah
San Francisco (USA)

December 11, 2015

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Saffron Kingdom – a cinematic counter-narrative to The Kashmir Files

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* “Saffron Kingdom” is a film produced in the United States by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, positioned as a response to the 2022 release “The Kashmir Files.” While the latter focused on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and framed Kashmiri Muslims as perpetrators of violence, “Saffron Kingdom” seeks to present an alternate perspective—highlighting the experiences of Kashmiri Muslims facing alleged abuses by Indian security forces.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

From lazy to lost? The myths and realities behind generational panic about youth

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak Older generations in many societies often describe the young with labels such as “lazy, unproductive, lost, anxious, depoliticised, unpatriotic or wayward.” Others see them as “social media, mobile phone and porn addicts.” Such judgments arise from a generational anxiety rooted in fears of losing control and from distorted perceptions about youth, especially in the context of economic crises, conflicts, and wars in which many young lives are lost.

Counterview

Search This Blog