Modi wins Bihar elections.

[Aupmanyav]

Bihar is one of the larger states of India with a population of a 100 million. JDU and Modi's BJP were ruling it. In opposition was the son of a convicted and currently serving his sentence in jail Chief Minister (Laloo Prasad), and on the margins, Rahul Gandhi, heir of the Nehru-Gandhi clan and the son of Sonia Maino Gandhi. Communist parties (CP*) did better than last time (16) as so did the Muslim group AIMIM (5). NDA, the ruling group were pulled back in some 45 seats by a partner going to elections alone (LJP), though it won just one seat. Disruption of jobs due to virus highly affected the poll.

 

[Vinayaka]

Aup, can you explain how elections and various states in India work. I'm not getting it, as I have a Canadian subconscious on it. (Other folks work from the framework of their own country.) Here we have a national election, but also provincial elections. The only overlap between provincial and federal is that some parties run candidates in both. So we have federal conservative, and provincial conservative, but the elected officials are separated. If the liberal party, for example won a provincial election, we could never say that Justin Trudeau won that election, as he;s a federal politician. So what confuses me is how you say Modi won this Bihar state election. Wouldn't it be the leader of the BJP in Bihar?

 

[Aupmanyav]

The winner and the looser in Bihar. The looser calls the winner, Chacha (Uncle). Another so-called nephew (no real relation but the older leader worked with or against their parents since Mrs. Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1977) who tried to try his luck alone and got a severe beating.

Chirag Paswan, the one who flew away, tonsured head because his father died two months ago. He is a member of Indian parliament and may be inducted in the cabinet as a junior minister. His father, Ram Bilas Paswan, was a senior minister. His party could get only one seat. Had he remained with the ruling group, he would have got 7. All he three leaders are from different backward (lower) castes.

According to the Election Commission, 700,000 hand sanitizers, 460,0000 masks, 600,000 PPE kits, 670,000 face shields and 2.3 million pairs of hand gloves were been arranged for Bihar polls. There were 720 million voters and some 400 million voted. The count was finished yesterday (i.e., in one day). One candidate lost he election by just 12 votes (normally there will be some 1.6 million voters for one seat). Till now, no major complaints, but there will sure be court cases which will linger on. Till the case is decided the declared person will represent that area. Normally, such cases are not very strong.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Aup, can you explain how elections and various states in India work. I'm not getting it, as I have a Canadian subconscious on it.

You see, Vinayaka, Indian Constitution says that India is federal or secular, but our meaning differs from what is current in West. By secular we mean that if a Hindu get one Rupee then a Muslim also will get an equal amount, i.e., one Rupee. Equal treatment to all religions but none discarded. As for federalism, all government works are classified in three categories: 1. with the National government, 2. with the state government, and 3. combined responsibility decided by consultation. In case of dispute, all parties go to the courts. We have been following this for the last 73 years with quite a success.

So the people selected for Central government do their work in Delhi and the people selected for state government do their work in their own state. Apart from that we have a similar set up at the district level (Panchayati Raj, Panchayat - village council) and as municipal set up in larger town and cities. A Panchayat election will soon take place in Jammu and Kashmir, and a state election in W. Bengal is the next.

As perhaps you know, we have hundreds of regional and independent political parties and are not surprised if the number of prospective candidates goes beyond 100 at any place (185 once in Nizamabad, near Hyderabad). In such a case one voting machine is not enough and we have to have multiple voting machines, twelve in one case in each polling booth with their control machines which keep the paper record with the signature of every person who voted as described below. No eligible candidate can be refused. It is their democratic right to contest an election. And we take these machines even to places where there is no electricity or even if there is only one person who can vote (Gir mountains in Gujarat), and for that person a retinue of election official and security people may have to travel for a day or two. We take our elections very seriously. The law is that no person should have to travel more than 500 meters to reach a polling booth.

India multiple voting machines - Google Search

An EVM Can Handle a Max of 16 Candidates: But How About 185?

 

[Vinayaka]

You see, Vinayaka, Indian Constitution says that India is federal or secular, but our meaning differs from what is current in West. By secular we mean that if a Hindu get one Rupee then a Muslim also will get an equal amount, i.e., one Rupee. Equal treatment to all religions but none discarded. As for federalism, all government works are classified in three categories: 1. with the National government, 2. with the state government, and 3. combined responsibility decided by consultation. In case of dispute, all parties go to the courts. We have been following this for the last 73 years with quite a success.

So the people selected for Central government do their work in Delhi and the people selected for state government do their work in their own state. Apart from that we have a similar set up at the district level (Panchayati Raj, Panchayat - village council) and as municipal set up in larger town and cities. A Panchayat election will soon take place in Jammu and Kashmir, and a state election in W. Bengal is the next.

As perhaps you know, we have hundreds of regional and independent political parties and are not surprised if the number of prospective candidates goes beyond 100 at any place (185 once in Nizamabad, near Hyderabad). In such a case one voting machine is not enough and we have to have multiple voting machines, twelve in one case in each polling booth with their control machines which keep the paper record with the signature of every person who voted as described below. No eligible candidate can be refused. It is their democratic right to contest an election. And we take these machines even to places where there is no electricity or even if there is only one person who can vote (Gir mountains in Gujarat), and for that person a retinue of election official and security people may have to travel for a day or two. We take our elections very seriously. The law is that no person should have to travel more than 500 meters to reach a polling booth.

India multiple voting machines - Google Search

An EVM Can Handle a Max of 16 Candidates: But How About 185?

Thanks. Didn't answer my question as to why you said Modi won a state election though. Is there a set schedule for state elections?

Also, is there a presidency like in the US, or like in Canada, does Modi, as the leader of the BJP, become prime minister?