“I’m deeply concerned by the election results; the Republic has no reason to celebrate”

Support The Interview with Karan Thapar here: https://fij.mojo.page/support-the-int... I'm deeply concerned by the election results; the Republic has no reason to celebrate: Yogendra Yadav, National Convenor, Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. In an interview to discuss the election results that were announced yesterday (the 4th of May) as well as what they mean for India as a whole and what they suggest about the BJP’s hold over the country, Yogendra Yadav, the National Convenor of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, has said he is deeply concerned, adding he doesn’t believe the Indian Republic has reasons to celebrate the outcome. “As a democrat, as someone who thinks about the future of the Indian Republic, I am deeply concerned. I don’t resent the winners. They have every reason to celebrate. But does the country, does the Republic, have reasons to celebrate? I am not sure.” Yogendra Yadav argues that the window that seemed to open with the Parliamentary election results of 2024, but was steadily narrowing thereafter, is now firmly shut. “The window of opportunity that opened in 2024 with the Parliamentary elections, suddenly a whiff of fresh air, suddenly the country looked more democratic than it appeared for a few years, and suddenly it seemed as if things could happen, could change, that window became narrower after Maharashtra and Haryana elections and particularly after the Bihar elections. I think it’s safe to say that the window is firmly shut today.” In the interview, Yogendra Yadav speaks in detail about the results in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Bengal. I do not wish to give away what he has said. His is a rich, engrossing and revealing analysis that will help you understand the outcome of the state election results. You should definitely hear it for yourself. To help you, I will give you a list of the questions that were put to Mr. Yadav. Here they are:- 1) Before I talk to you about individual states, what's your overall impression of yesterday’s election results? Is this a good outcome for India or do you have concerns and doubts? 2) Does this result suggest the BJP is a shoe-in to win a fourth term at the national elections in 2029? It controls the hindi heartland, the east, the west, and the north east. 3) Let’s focus on the details and start with Tamil Nadu. Are you surprised by the result? TVK winning with DMK a poor second and Stalin defeated. 4) Normally Tamil Nadu alternates between DMK and AIADMK. So if TVK has won is that a sign that the voters were not just looking for change but fresh faces? 5) What exactly does Vijay stand for? He’s deliberately given no interviews and the only thing he’s said is that he is against corruption. So what does he stand for? 6) What accounts for DMK’s very poor performance? Stalin, after all, had a fairly clean image as Chief Minister and his Party had extensive welfare schemes that were popular. Yet it’s been pushed to second position. How do you account for that? 7) Let’s come to Assam. The BJP has won over 80% of the seats. Even Upper Assam which used to vote for Congress seems to have been swept by saffron this time and Gaurav Gogoi has lost in Jorhat the family bastion. What explains this massive victory? 8) Most people will recall Himanta Biswa Sarma’s repeated use of hate speech. The fact that he called Muslims miyas and was nasty and cruel about them. Has hate speech won in Assam? 9) In Keralam, the UDF has scored a massive victory over the LDF. I know this has happened after ten years of LDF rule but did you expect such a sizeable swing? 10) The BJP has got three seats. That is way below the ten they were hoping for but it's enormously better than the zero seats they won in 2021. How much credit do you give them for that? 11) It was the Bengal election that everyone seemed to be talking about. What was responsible for Mamata’s defeat? SIR? Anti-incumbency? Loss of the woman vote? Or very substantial Hindu-Muslim polarisation? Has the SIR cast doubt on the credibility of the Bengal election? 12) In 2021 and 2024 Mamata Banerjee won sizeable majorities in Bengal. That was comprehensibly reversed this time. Beyond anti-incumbency is this also a sign of over confidence? The Party was predicting over 200 seats. Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month.    / @thewirenews