Pune: “During the five years of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they created a new sense of ideological power to dominate the elections with new agendas,” said Prof Suhas Palshikar, a political commentator, while addressing the audience on the topic ‘2019 Election - Continuity from 2014; Departure from Past.’
The event was organised by the Pune International Centre (PIC) on Wednesday at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune. The programme was presided over by Vice President PIC Dr Vijay Kelkar and Founder Member PIC Prof Amitay Mallik. PIC Director Prashant Girbane was also present at the event.
Speaking on the topic, Palshikar said, “The party also thrived on majoritarianism, which is a political philosophy that asserts that a particular caste or community is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society and has the right to make decisions.”
“It’s like enforcing prejudices on society by a certain community where its will must prevail. The question remains that if this trend continues, what would be the shape of the political culture of the country in the coming decade,” he questioned.
He added, “Populism and majoritarianism can be detrimental in a democratic society. As per a political survey conducted in 2014-15, it was revealed that close to 16 per cent of people wanted a strong leader who could speak for them and operate without electoral constraints and competitions, and in 2019, the number rose to almost 40 per cent. These leaders chosen by the public then act on their own volition and enforce their power. That tendency is called populism.”
