As the vote-counting process began in Bihar, one peculiar scene unfolded hundreds of miles away in New Delhi: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters stood fully decorated, lights flashing, drums ready, and victory banners placed across the complex—even before a single conclusive result had been declared. The visual alone captured the prevailing sentiment across the political spectrum: this election’s outcome seemed less like a democratic exercise and more like a pre-scripted performance managed by those already assuming the final act.
While democracy demands transparency, credibility, and neutrality, the Bihar election displayed symptoms of manipulated optics, coordinated narratives, and orchestrated crises. Among these, three elements stood out: the conveniently timed Red Fort Blast, the unmistakable bias within the Election Commission (EC), and the Modi government’s relentless reliance on anti-Pakistan propaganda to sway voters. Each of these factors contributed to shaping an election environment steeped in fear, suspicion, and psychological pressure.
The most alarming factor was the Red Fort Blast, whose timing raised more questions than answers. Occurring just days before polling, the blast quickly became the centerpiece of the BJP’s election strategy. The pattern was familiar: whenever electoral stakes rise, a “terror scare” emerges, conveniently followed by instant accusations against Pakistan—without evidence, inquiry, or due process.
Such events create an emotional surge—a shockwave that shifts public discourse away from governance failures, unemployment, rural distress, inflation, or the persistent agrarian crisis. Instead, attention is diverted toward manufactured national security concerns. The Modi government has repeatedly leveraged these sudden “security incidents” to rally voters around the ruling party by fostering fear and portraying itself as India’s sole protective force. The Red Fort Blast fit this pattern almost perfectly, raising concerns among analysts that the incident was exploited, if not engineered, to tilt public opinion at a decisive moment.
The credibility of any election hinges on the neutrality of its regulatory institutions. Yet, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has, over recent years, gradually drifted from impartiality to partisanship. In the Bihar elections, reports of delayed responses, unaddressed complaints, and unusual coordination with BJP-friendly media amplified public skepticism about the fairness of the electoral process.
This bias becomes particularly alarming during closely contested elections, where even marginal interference can decisively shape outcomes. In Bihar, it added yet another layer of mistrust atop an already troubled democratic process. Following the Red Fort incident, the Modi government wasted no time in reviving its well-worn propaganda script.
This formulaic approach is not new. BJP’s election success often relies on portraying Pakistan as an ever-present enemy, thereby positioning itself as the guardian of national security. It is a diversionary tactic—an attempt to drown out public frustration over inflation, joblessness, education failures, agrarian distress, and collapsing institutions. In Bihar, this strategy aimed to manufacture a sympathy vote and forge a “besieged nation” mindset in which people gravitate toward the ruling party under psychological pressure. Perhaps the most striking symbol of the election’s scripted nature was the premature celebration at the BJP headquarters. Before final results, the complex was already adorned with banners and lights. Supporters had been mobilized. The stage was ready.
Media outlets aligned with the ruling coalition aggressively promoted early trends—138 for NDA, 90 for RJD-plus, and minor figures for others—long before the counting stabilized. The aim was to psychologically cement public perception: the BJP had already won, even if votes were still being counted. The NDA’s emerging lead was not the product of organic public mandate but of a machinery built on:
- Weaponized media pushing narrative over facts
- False flag-style incidents designed to influence emotions
- EC favoritism, which tilted the administrative field
- Constant anti-Pakistan rhetoric, used as a domestic political device
This cocktail of coercion and manipulation has become a hallmark of elections under the Modi government, where democratic norms are overridden by political engineering and psychological operations.
Bihar’s election outcome—celebrated prematurely by the BJP and shaped by a synchronized triad of fear, propaganda, and institutional bias—reflects a broader pattern in Indian politics. Elections increasingly resemble spectacles where narratives matter more than numbers, and manipulation overshadows mandates. For India, once celebrated as the world’s largest democracy, this trajectory is deeply troubling. When institutions lose neutrality, media loses objectivity, and ruling parties rely on false flags and fear to win elections, democracy ceases to be a people’s choice—it becomes a performance engineered by those in power.