Don't dare to say it.

"The results of News 18 Mega Opinion Poll covering 21 states, 518 constituencies and over one lakh respondents continued on the second day...According to the survey, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to win 411 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The survey also predicted 25 out of 28 seats for NDA in Karnataka, 12 out of 14 seats in Assam, 25 out of 42 seats in West Bengal and a clean sweep in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. News18. Since the consecration of the Ram temple on 22 January "the risks are rising disproportionately for Modi. The autocratic leader will likely still be India's next prime minister, but his party's goal of winning 370 parliamentary seats out of 543 is looking like a tall order," wrote Andy Mukherjee. First, the returning officer in the mayoral poll in Chandigarh Anil Masih was seen on video marking ballot papers to make them invalid so as to ensure the BJP candidate won. HT. This may stop returning officers resorting to overt cheating in the parliamentary polls. Second, the Supreme Court forced the State Bank of India (SBI) to hand over details of Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission (EC) and ordered the EC to upload the details on its site by 5 pm on 15 March. BS. The list shows that the major contributions were from unknown companies and the BJP received more than all others combined. TN. Whether the list passes the smell test is for the court to decide. Third, "In a shock move weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has quit and his resignation has been accepted by the President." NDTV. Promptly, "The three-member selection panel headed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (March 14) appointed two former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers - Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu - as election commissioners." The Wire. The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is also a retired IAS. wikipedia. So now all 3 are from the IAS. Two IAS officers - Hasmukh Adhia and Tapan Ray - were responsible for Electoral Bonds becoming law over the objections of the Reserve Bank (RBI). Adhia was made chairman of the Bank of Baroda and Ray became chairman of the Central Bank of India, both public sector banks, after retiring. The Wire. The then Governor of the RBI Urjit Patel resigned on 10 December 2018, one year prematurely (NDTV) to be replaced by a retired IAS officer Shaktikanta Das whose tenure has since extended by another 3 years (wikipedia). What makes IAS officers so attractive for Mr Modi in key constitutional posts? Mr Modi is not resting solely on ex-IAS officers, though. Rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 were suddenly notified on 12 March, four years after the Act became law. ET. Cooking gas price was cut by Rs 100 per cylinder, seven days ago. ET. Then, yesterday petrol and diesel prices were cut Rs 2 per liter. TIE. And, the government has blocked the video of the shooting of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. ET. Handouts with taxpayer money, censorship of news and retired IAS officers, victory assured. Apparently, a Pakistani politician gave up his seat alleging vote rigging in his favor in the elections on 8 February. Reuters. It's the army in Pakistan. What about India? Don't say it out loud.