LS polls: Yechury claims that lengthy elections hurt opposition parties

According to Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the 2024 Lok Sabha polls would be the longest elections ever conducted in India, which will harm the opposition parties.

While acknowledging that the Election Commission had the authority to decide on election dates, he questioned the logic of the decision in an interview with PTI.

When asked about the 82-day general election process, which began on March 16 with the release of the polls and will end on June 4 with the revelation of the results, he said, “It’s a matter of concern.”

It is a cause for alarm. We acknowledge and agree that the Election Commission has the exclusive authority to make decisions on these issues under the Constitution. Furthermore, only those are required under the Indian Constitution. Thus, they are entitled, Yechury said. He said to PTI, “But we question the wisdom of it.”

Yechury, whose CPI(M) party is a member of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance, said that as technology progresses, polling times should decrease. Rather, he said, it has gone up.

“You know, you have such a protracted election cycle today, with the exception of 1952, which was the first election and the nascent stages of India’s parliamentary democracy. Thus, many things need to be changed. This election is the longest you have had, except from that. In reality, it ought to be abbreviated given all the technologies they are discussing. Rather, it’s been extended,” he said.

He emphasized that the opposition faces unfair financial and media advantages in the next elections, but added that their extended campaign period also disadvantages them in direct campaigning.

What does it do now? The governing party benefits from it. that the leaders are able to shift, go from one stage to the next, and go on with their campaign. In the past, however, you might run for office, end your campaign, and then cast your vote,” he said.

Here, polling takes place during one phase, while campaigning occurs during a different period. Additionally, the prime minister and the leaders of the governing party, while they are campaigning, transmit what they say at one location straight to the polling locations.

“Is that not against the law? You claim to suspend all campaigning for 48 hours, but that is obviously not the case. Thus, these kinds of timetables allow for it,” he said.

Secondly, the individual said that the seven stages allow the BJP to gradually shift cadre in places where the party is weak and lacks sufficient numbers. He added that the governing party has an inherent advantage as a result of all this.

That is regrettable. There ought to be fair play for everybody. In terms of financial power, it doesn’t exist. Therefore, in terms of public outreach and ads, it is absent. Furthermore, there is now no physical campaigning, according to the CPI(M) head.

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls will have a 44-day voting period, which would be the second longest behind the 1951–1952 first legislative elections, which lasted for more than four months.

The world’s largest election exercise, the Lok Sabha elections, will be conducted in seven parts starting on April 19 and ending with the vote count on June 4.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the election dates are determined by taking into account several aspects such as the topography of the areas, public holidays, festivals, and exams at the press conference to announce the vote timetable.