“Four reasons why Ashoka University researcher’s claims about manipulation in 2019 polls are misleading”, First Post, August 04, 2023:
“There has been much public debate about a recent research paper by Ashoka University’s Sabyasachi Das which claimed to have found ‘objective evidence’ of ‘democratic backsliding in the world’s largest democracy’. The paper emphatically states this happened ‘in the form of electoral manipulation’ in India by the BJP and claims ‘results consistent with fraud’ while studying the BJP’s vote-share density.
These are serious claims that deserve to be looked at closely. Predictably, the paper has already ignited a vociferous debate between the echo chambers of the Left and critics of the ruling party, who see in it a vindication of long-held beliefs on BJP’s electoral ascendance, and the Right, which sees a conspiracy to besmirch the legitimacy of PM Narendra Modi and the BJP’s poll triumphs.
As the debate blew up, Ashoka University distanced itself, saying it was ‘dismayed by the speculation and debate’; that it ‘encourages research but does not direct or approve specific research projects by individual faculty members’ and ‘social media activity or public activism by Ashoka faculty, students or staff in their individual capacity does not reflect the stand of the University’….”
Read the full article at Firstpost.com
