Sea of uniformity
Sir — Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, had unleashed a series of plagues on the Egyptians. The year, 2024, has similarly let loose celebrity look-alike contests on the world. Harry Styles, Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet were just some of the big names in the over 30 human scavenger hunts held in 2024. Unlike earlier events for finding secondary Charlie Chaplins or Elvis Presleys, today’s competitions are less costume contests and more an award for winning some sort of genetic lottery. The whole thing promotes stereotypes with everyone rallying around the celebration of a certain type of man or woman. Fans of celebrities zero in on doppelgängers and flood them with romantic propositions — not for themselves but because of some passing resemblance to a star.
Rimjhim Roy, Calcutta
Mixed results
Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance has stunned the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition to retain power in Maharashtra (“Capital gains max”, Nov 24). The Mahayuti’s handsome victory came on the heels of the BJP’s win in the Haryana assembly elections. This will surely boost the morale of the BJP, which had been on the back foot since the Lok Sabha election results. The outcome in Maharashtra has not only been a jolt for the Congress but also for the Udhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which will now struggle for survival.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Sir — In Maharashtra,the BJP has reaped the dividends of the votes beingsplit between the two factions of the Shiv Sena and theNCP (“Decisive message”, Nov 24). While the Mahayuti won, it is the BJP that has cornered the largest pieceof the pie.
R. Narayanan, Navi Mumbai
Sir — The results of the assembly polls in Jharkhand prove that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-led alliance is invincible (“Soren soars in Jharkhand”, Nov 24). The JMM chief, Hemant Soren, and his wife deserve all the praise for this victory as the Bharatiya Janata Party left no stone unturned in raising baseless corruption charges against Soren, who spent a long time in jail.
Arun Gupta, Calcutta
Sir — The JMM-led INDIA alliance has not only retained power in Jharkhand but also managed to increase its seat count and vote share in comparison to the 2019 assembly elections. The BJP’s attempt to disrupt the INDIA bloc’s traditional vote banks among the Muslim and the Adivasi communities was successfully countered by the INDIA bloc.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — The Jharkhand election results show the enduring power of regional identity and efficient local leadership. On the other hand, the Mahayuti which has surged back to power in Maharashtra should now try to attract investment to the state and focus on addressing persistent challenges such as farmers’ distress, inflation and unemployment.
Vijay Singh Adhikari, Nainital
Sir — The Maharashtra and the Jharkhand poll results have, once again, reversed the political situation in the country. The BJP has bounced back after its tepid performance in the Lok Sabha election and the INDIA bloc is falling behind. The win in Jharkhand is the only balm for the latter.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Sir — The assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were won on the back of schemes like the Ladki Bahin Yojana and the Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana, respectively. The BJP in Maharashtra and the JMM in Jharkhand put in great efforts to woo voters while the Congress suffered owing to infighting, overconfidence and laziness, particularly in Maharashtra.
Hassan Khan Isha’ati, Sitamarhi, Bihar
Sir — The INDIA bloc failed to put up a fight against the BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra. Its victory in Jharkhand, too, was largely because of the JMM’s popularity. Losing Haryana to the BJP is another example of the Congress’s inept handling of alliance politics as well as its arrogance and complacency.
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta
Sir — A key takeaway from the election in Maharashtra is that the overarching appeal of Hindutva is still intact. With the Mahayuti retaining power, the businessman, Gautam Adani, can rest assured that he will keep the Dharavi redevelopment project. The emphatic win of the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand is some solace for the INDIA bloc.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir —The INDIA bloc failed to maintain the momentum of its performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Instead of coming up with a fresh narrative that would resonate with the electorate, the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, kept repeating the same things he had said during the Lok Sabha polls.
S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru
Sir — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s distinguished victory in the Wayanad bypoll with a margin of 4,10,931 votes illustrates people’s trust and faith in the Congress leader’s ability to develop the region and work for its betterment (“Winners and losers”, Nov 25). Her victory may encourage women to take on a more active role in politics.
Jakir Hussain, Kanpur
Sir — The recent by-elections in Kerala, held due to the voluntary resignation of sitting members of Parliament and the legislative assembly, were a waste of both money and manpower. To curb this unnecessary expenditure, it is imperative that a new policy is introduced wherein if a legislator resigns for any reason other than death or incapacitation, the runner-up from the previous election will be given the opportunity to serve the remainder of the term.
K.A. Solaman, Alapuzzha, Kerala
Sir — Now that the Congress has won the Wayanad re-election resoundingly, it must not forget its promise of constructing new houses for the homeless victims of the recent floods and make good on it at the earliest.
A.P. Thiruvadi, Chennai