New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) conceded defeat in Telangana even before ballots were cast, an editorial in Siasat — one of India’s most prominent Urdu newspapers — said as it weighed in on the just concluded assembly polls in five states.
The 28 November editorial — two days before Telangana voted to elect 119 MLAs — also provided reasoning for drawing this conclusion: governments, it said, are elected to resolve people’s problems, but the BJP isn’t willing to do this. Instead, it seeks votes in the name of temples or by providing free ration.
“From these speeches and the BJP leaders’ stance, it’s evident that the party has conceded defeat in the electoral process in Telangana ahead of time,” the editorial said, adding that since the BJP was in “no position to win even a few seats, it’s now a direct contest between the Congress party and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi”.
Siasat wasn’t the only Urdu newspaper focusing on elections this week — as counting day drew near, Inquilab and Rozanama Rashtriya Sahara dedicated several editorials about the polls.
But despite the focus on election, Urdu newspapers gave significant space to the rescue operations in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel and the “mysterious” cases of respiratory illnesses in China.
Here’s all the news that made the front page and editorials of the Urdu press this week.
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Elections
All three newspapers carried exit polls for the five states that went to polls — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. A majority of exit polls show that the Congress is likely to retain power in Chhattisgarh and also form the government in Telangana by dislodging the ruling BRS, while the BJP may retain power in Madhya Pradesh and is the favourite to win in Rajasthan.
On 30 November, Siasat’s editorial repeated what it said previously. According to it, the BJP appeared to have given up entirely on the assembly election in Telangana, instead focusing on the next year’s parliamentary elections. This, it said, was mainly because of the Karnataka election, which appears to have demotivated its rank and file.
With the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also facing resistance in some parts of Hyderabad, Telangana is a direct contest between the BRS and the Congress, the editorial said.
Both parties had adopted aggressive strategies in their election campaigns, taking every opportunity to attack one another, it said. While the Congress is focusing on its six guarantees — which include welfare schemes for farmers, poor families, and students — the BRS is doing all it can to secure a third straight term in the state, the editorial said.
On 29 November, Inquilab said that Congress fought the Rajasthan election in the most “pleasant and effective manner” possible.
The discontent within the BJP was visible, the editorial said. In addition, while the Congress had a regional leader in CM Ashok Gehlot, the BJP had no such regional face, instead falling back on PM Narendra Modi’s popularity, it said. “The same was employed in Karnataka, where the BJP performed poorly.”
The editorial also spoke about the BJP’s decision to not project former chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia as the party’s CM face. “She could have been the face of the party, but that didn’t happen.”
In its 28 November editorial, Inquilab spoke about the rise in atrocities against Dalits, adivasis, and other backward castes under the BJP rule. In its quest for electoral success, it said, the BJP views those who live on the margins of society as a mere vote bank.
“In recent years, there has been a trend where the Dalits, adivasis, and backward communities have come together politically in support of the BJP. However, simultaneously, there have been concerted efforts to suppress and oppose, especially the Dalits,” it said, adding that as per MoS for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra’s response in Parliament this March, 1,89,945 cases of atrocities against Dalits were recorded in the last four years.
In its 27 November editorial, Siasat questioned the promises made by PM Modi and the BJP. The public, it said, no longer believes in these assurances. This was especially true among women, it added.
The editorial referred to Modi’s promise of bringing back black money and depositing Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every citizen.
“People are asking whether Narendra Modi, who promised to deposit Rs 15 lakh into the account of every citizen and vowed to provide two crore jobs annually before the 2014 parliamentary polls, fulfilled his promises,” it asked, adding that both of these promises now lay forgot.
Meanwhile, Sahara’s editorial implied that the high voter turnout this time could put a spanner in political parties’ calculations. This, it said, is because it’s very difficult to predict which way an election would go when the voter turnout exceeds 70 percent.
Significantly, according to the Election Commission, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Rajasthan all recorded over 70 percent voter turnout. Telangana, however, recorded a lower voting percentage — according to EC data, the state, which hadn’t voted at the time of the editorial, recorded 64.12 percent voting.
The paper’s 26 November editorial worried about the deteriorating political discourse in the country. There’s a general trend of political differences and rivalries becoming personal, it said.
“Political differences should not become part of one’s personal life. While there’s no harm in disagreeing with one’s views, it’s wrong to work toward eliminating their perspective,” it said, adding that Indian politics should be kept free from such things.
“All parties should not only remember not to disrespect others but also shouldn’t allow anyone to do so.”
Uttarakhand tunnel rescue
Newspapers continued coverage of the rescue efforts at Uttarkashi’s under-construction Silkyara tunnel. On 28 November, the efforts paid off — 41 workers, trapped for 17 days after a portion of a tunnel collapsed, finally walked free.
In its 1 December editorial, Inquilab made a case for recognition for rat miners Firoz Quraishi and Munu Kumar, and Wakeel Hassan, the leader of the 12-member rescue team.
“These three individuals should also be honoured with bravery awards,” it said, adding that the demand was made because “these individuals are not government employees”.
China’s bout of respiratory illnesses
China’s spurt of respiratory illnesses, including cases of childhood pneumonia, also worried the Urdu press, which wondered why unknown diseases were emerging there. Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said common winter infections — not new pathogens — are behind the spike in hospitalisations.
In its 30 November editorial, Sahara said that just like in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, China may be concealing information.
“When the WHO inquired about the mysterious diseases, China responded by stating that the situation isn’t unusual and that everything’s normal in the health department,” the editorial said, adding that according to a clarification from China’s health ministry, there was no new virus behind the sudden increase of respiratory illnesses.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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