by June 4, 2024, the day India’s 18th Lok Sabha election results were announced, was a landmark moment. While the ruling party managed to retain power, the results delivered a clear message: no single narrative, however dominant, is immune to public scrutiny. The opposition’s resurgence, particularly in several key states and constituencies, felt like a reassertion of democratic strength. For many of us, it renewed faith in the electorate’s ability to look beyond polarization and demand accountability and change. With the same Prime Minister set to be sworn in on June 9, 2024, a crucial shift is the presence of stronger checks, both internal through coalition dynamics and external through a more substantial opposition bench in Parliament.
In the aftermath of the results, public discourse spanned a wide spectrum from celebration to skepticism. Amid the memes, articles, and opinion pieces, two social media posts on my feed particularly captured the polarized lenses through which the outcome was being read.
One post welcomed the return of coalition politics, describing it as a bulwark against totalitarianism and a space for dialogue across ideological lines. It reminded readers that some of the most enduring policy ideas are those shaped by compromise. The other post viewed the result as a regression, suggesting that identity politics had triumphed over vision, governance, and delivery. Where one saw hope and accountability, the other perceived disorder and dilution.
My own reflections resonate more with the former. To the latter critique that caste, creed, and religion overshadowed governance, one must ask: When have these elements not played a defining role in Indian elections?
The idea that the ruling party represented a purely development-driven agenda is difficult to sustain when its campaigns repeatedly invoked religious identity. From speeches filled with coded references to Sanatan Dharma to overt communal appeals, the lines between state and religion were not just blurred- they were often strategically erased. The Ram Mandir’s completion and inauguration in January 2024, timed in the lead-up to the elections, is one example of how religious symbolism was deployed as political capital.
Yet, the electorate showed signs of discernment. In Ayodhya, the ground zero for this symbolic politics, a Dalit candidate from the Samajwadi Party defeated the BJP contender. In Banswara, Rajasthan, where religious polarization was attempted through campaign rhetoric, a tribal leader from the Bharat Adivasi Party won by a margin of over 200,000 votes. These outcomes suggest that for many voters, tangible issues like employment, food security, housing, and inclusion held more weight than ideological appeals.
I do not claim to be a political analyst. Nor do I subscribe uncritically to any single party’s narrative. However, I am a firm believer in democratic principles, particularly the role of the opposition as a counterweight in any healthy parliamentary system. Democracy does not require consensus; it requires the capacity for disagreement, negotiation, and accountability. A robust opposition forces the government to engage, adapt, and explain, and this, in itself, is a democratic victory.
For those who view the past decade as a time of unprecedented progress under visionary leadership, a sobering question remains: Then why has this also been a decade of rising emigration?
According to Statista (May 2024), approximately 17.8 million Indians lived abroad in 2020, a significant increase from 1995 levels. While this trend is partly shaped by international factors like visa policies and global job markets, it also reflects perceptions of opportunity and stability at home. If people truly believe their future lies in their country, would they leave in such numbers?
This election has not undone the deep social divisions of the past decade, nor has it resolved the contradictions between development and identity politics. But it has marked a shift. A space has reopened, however, tentatively for debate, dissent, and the democratic process. For those committed to a plural, inclusive, and accountable India, that space is worth holding on to.
