DAY 2

ARTICLE 1

CAMPAIGNING:

Day 2 of Mock Parliamentary Elections on 28.3.23, Tuesday started with the

campaigning of all the Political Parties which was held in two separate sessions.
The first round was held from 12:30pm to 1:30pm in the audi block, giving
opportunity of campaigning to 6 political parties, namely, P.E.S.T, Inquilab,
Jana Samveda Rakshaka Paksha, Progressive Conservative Party, Indian United
Republic Party and Bharatiya Awaaz Party, followed by the second round which
took place from 2:30pm to 3:30pm in the same venue enabling the rest 5
political parties to campaign, namely, Reformist People’s Party, Indian Youth
Democratic Front, Independent People’s Party, Humanist Progressive Party and
National Democratic Reform Party.
Every party did their campaigning in their very own unique way, where they
effectively upheld their ideologies, policies from their manifestos and their
introductory speeches. Starting on with the Progressive Conservative Party,
they reiterated their stand on a centre-right ideology with a vision to integrate
culture and progress like Japan and their strong discontent with the western
model of governance and lifestyle. Inquilab with its emphasis on upliftment of
middle classes and promotion of true secularism, makes its stand very clear
against privatisation of any form as it aims to free education to all as well as
enhance the quality of public healthcare.
The most appealing among the campaigns of all the political parties, P.E.S.T.,
People Empowering Social Transformation, came up with an interesting
game where the individuals were given the liberty to express their views on the
prevailing social evils like corruption, nepotism, oppression, casteism,
communalism, etc., by eliminating one of the pests from the screen through the
application of a red spray. Though the party was later asked to remove this
activity by the Election Commission. The Bharatiya Awaz Party also stood
firm on its position of having not a single but a collaborative ideology which
effectively addressed the concerns of the people, as its motto says, “the Voice of
the People.”
The party for the protection of the people’s consciousness, Jana Samveda
Rakshaka Paksha, also marked the basis of its ideology as “for the people”,
stating the principle of 4C’s - Clean, Connected, Consistent and Congruent.
IURP, Indian United Republic Party also refrained from being confined to
any particular ideology as it promised to “march on for common prosperity”,
being more people centric and pragmatic in nature of its conduct. They
emphasised multiculturalism and significance of diversity through their party
symbol as well.
The second round also took place with some amount of energy and active
participation by all the institutions. The Humanist Progressive Party with the
ideology of holistic humanism and strong emphasis on sustainable development
and transparency also campaigned in a very unique way where they decorated
their party stalls with reused materials which reflected their vision in a very
proficient manner. With the incorporation of various games made available at
the stalls of the Independent People’s Party, the party having a centre-right
ideology made its campaign very approachable and attractive along with
upholding as well as reemphasising its motto - “Freedom. Opportunity.
Security.”
The Reformist People’s Party also had set up a very attractive stall with
printed as well as various handmade posters and managed to stand by its motto -
“maximising opportunities and minimising inequalities.” Taking pride in
addressing and fulfilling the concerns and needs of the people, National
Democratic Reform Party ensures to achieve the mission to create a more
participatory, democratic and responsive government as it aims to be a
movement for the people and by the people. The Indian Youth Democratic
Front with the motto - “From Young Voices comes Democratic Choices”,
follows a centre-left ideology and believes in social democracy with a vision of
promoting secularism and multiculturalism.

The campaigning sessions gave the media houses, think tanks and the individual
reporters an opportunity to interact with the members of various political
parties, interact with them, get to know their vision of the party, their ideology
and a brief understanding of their manifestos as well. Both the rounds were
entirely professional and upheld healthy and enthusiastic participation of each
of the participants from all the institutions as well as the common people. It
encouraged the parties to come up with creative ideas of campaigning and even
for the other institutions, it significantly enhanced their way of approaching and
evaluating the event.