I was a part of the pre-poll and post-poll Survey Team , traveling by road and meeting common people in  seven  Districts of Madhya Pradesh during the recent State Assembly Elections in Madhya Pradesh. The campaign run by the State Election Commission had reached the villages that were linked by all weather roads and Mobile phone network. The employees of the State Government, The elected representatives in the village to District level panchayat and some of the elite Sponsors of the electioneering were in constant touch with the masses. The big rallies did not appeal to the rural people as they were busy in crop harvesting activities.
The lessons are too many but I would like to pin point  the trends here :


1. None of the National Leader appeals to the common Masses : Surprisingly no one single leader from Delhi level had appealed to the spirit of people this time be it Modi, Rahul, Sonia, Mulayam, et al even when they had come to rallies in Bhopal.


2. Local issues dominated the elections- Selection of bahari ( Outsider )- candidates, local problems like water, electricity, link roads, corruption in Panchayats and delays in accessing the ration/ subsidies/ compensations of crop losses, etc. counted. The NOTA voting was discussed whenever they saw a new face in the electioneering.
3. Local CM Shivraj dominated the mindset of all : yes be it ruling party, Opposition, bureaucracy, Implementing Agencies or the Media they all highlighted the face, character, work and promises of Shivraj Singh Chauhan. This was not diluted by the opposition leaders as they were projected as Dilliwallahs and were out of bound for the masses;


4. Youth Voters made decisions : The elderly members of the family were sidelined by the youths as they wanted to vote for promises that were there before them . The rallies, meetings and discussions focused how youth wanted to change and saw the ruling party as a better alternative. No political party was able to satisfy there aspirations but they were struck by TINA and NOTA effect. They did not want to waste there votes in NOTA so they went for TINA ( There Is No Alternative );


5. Inflation and Corruptions do not decide whom to Vote ! Everyone knew that Corruption, highhandedness and inflation goes with Every Political Party so why get swayed by these issues ? The Voters wanted a government which would seems-to  work for them, MLAs reside nearby and be accessible and make life easier by managing resources for them.

    So  looser,  get moving and  better luck….. next time !


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