Democracy without contest — unsettling silence of Arunachal’s 2024 Verdict

In a democracy, elections are supposed to echo the will of the people. They are arenas of debate, persuasion, and choice — the lifeblood of a republic.

Yet, in Arunachal Pradesh’s 2024 Assembly elections, silence ruled where voices should have clashed. In ten constituencies — Mukto, Bomdilla, Itanagar, Sagalee, Ziro-Hapoli, Tali, Taliha, Roing, Hayuliang, and Chowkham — candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party were declared winners uncontested. That means nearly 21.74% of the state’s 46 assembly seats won by BJPout of 60 were decided without a single vote being cast.

What does it mean when a large section of a state’s representation is decided by default? On paper, it might seem like a reflection of overwhelming popular confidence in the ruling party.

In reality, it raises uncomfortable questions about the health of democracy in one of India’s most politically sensitive border states. Democracy thrives on competition; absence of that contest breeds complacency and undermines legitimacy.

Each of these constituencies tells a similar story: political opponents quietly backing out, nomination papers not filed, or last-minute withdrawals under murky circumstances. Mukto’s Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister, retained his seat effortlessly.

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In Chowkham, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein’s victory was a foregone conclusion. Others, like Dongru Siongju in Bomdilla or Mutchu Mithi in Roing, too, found themselves recipients of victory without a mandate tested in public.

This pattern is not a sign of political strength — it is a signal of democratic frailty. When no one contests, the people are denied their right to choose. The electoral process becomes a ritual rather than a reflection of collective will.

Arunachal’s election, admired for its high voter enthusiasm in previous years, now risks becoming an example of quiet coercion or political monopoly masked as stability.

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India’s democracy has long prided itself on spirited elections — noisy, vibrant, sometimes chaotic but always participatory.

The trend of uncontested victories, especially when concentrated within one party and under opaque circumstances, threatens that tradition. Democracy dies not with a coup, but with silence — when competition fades and conformity replaces conviction.

The 2024 Arunachal results should not be celebrated as efficiency but examined as a warning. A democracy that stops debating stops breathing.

Arunachal has given India many lessons in resilience; it must not become a lesson in resignation.