‘ Veteran journalist talks 2024 elections, state of Indian media and more.

Each election is very special. As a bit of a nostalgia buff, the first election always matters.
I remember 1989, covering VP Singh as he was going on a road show through Mumbai. I was very excited. And, you know, that was the ‘Battle of Bofors.’
That was also the first election, by the way, where the BJP emerged. And I think that was fascinating. In 1991, Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination… bang in the middle of the elections.
That changed the complexion of that poll. In terms of surprises, I would say 2004 and this election in 2024, were the two surprises in terms of outcomes.
So, you’d have to measure these two. I don’t think anyone expected Mr Vajpayee to not become Prime Minister in 2004. I think everyone expected the BJP to win big in 2024. And neither happened. I think Mr. Modi can claim that at least, unlike Mr. Vajpayee, he’s not out of power. But just think about it, had Odish — it’s one of the what-ifs — if Odisha had not voted the way they were, which was primarily because of the Pandyan factor, and had Nitish Kumar remained within the India Alliance, you could have had a very different election in 2024. So, I think these two surprised me. But every election, I find some joy or the other in every Indian election.
It’s a great chance to go out, meet people and find out what the voter wants. Let’s give Mr. Modi credit also, because this year, most incumbents across the world have lost. 65 elections were held across the world, across democracies.
And more than 50 of the incumbents have lost. So, Mr. Modi survived. And therefore, it’s a very strange election. He survived. In a strange way, the Opposition also survived. So, we’re not sure who won and who lost.
I like to say in the book that the voter won. I think the good news is, this is still the most diverse country in the world at the moment. So, what is true about one part of the country may not be true of the other.
I mean, in all the focus on Maharashtra, we’ve forgotten that the BJP lost Jharkhand. Right? And Hemant Soren scored a big victory. In all the focus on Haryana, we forgot the fact that in Jammu and Kashmir, the Opposition won.