I wanted to write a post in response to something I see a lot in DID/OSDD communities. This will be long, but I think this topic requires a level of nuance that is not compatible with brevity.
For context, I have C-PTSD/OSDD and have been in trauma therapy for about 2 years. Previously, I have been misdiagnosed and treated for a wide variety of conditions. Other treatments helped, but I never felt fully "functional". I felt that I would have a lot of plateaus in my mental health progress and often couldn't use coping skills under stress. This resulted in a lot of real world consequences for me. I was essentially unable to maintain a safe, sustainable lifestyle. During COVID, I took a break from therapy. I felt that with less external stressors, I would not experience as many symptoms. It was only after restarting therapy that I realized the work was far from over. My new therapist was the first clinician to recognize my near constant dissociation. Combined with my trauma history, she felt that I at least had C-PTSD, and was experiencing structural dissociation, if not OSDD/partial DID.
Following this new information, I began parts therapy. Understanding and meeting the needs of my parts/alters that I have been able to communicate has brought me more relief than anything else I've ever tried. It has been a long, painful, complicated process; but it has been so worth it.
With my new diagnosis, came a lot of shame and confusion. I started doing research into dissociative disorders and trauma with the guidance of my therapist. I also work in a trauma-related field, so I've had some great opportunities to take professional training on the topic as well.
At the same time, I felt intense isolation. Dissociative disorders, especially those towards the DID end of the spectrum are unique. Our minds developed in a way that keeps us specifically "safe". So getting someone who has no experience with dissociation/parts to understand what I was learning about myself felt impossible. So, I went to reddit and other online spaces to try and hear about experiences like mine.
A lot of what I see in these subreddits is super helpful. I hear people express things about their experiences that are deeply validating for me. But I have noticed a few behaviors in the community, that seem to conflict with the treatment methods recommended in the research we have. I'll come back to these in a minute.
Now, I recognize that a lot of us have been deeply let down by the healthcare system. Many of us have never spoken to a clinician who believes and validates us. When you are dealing with severe mental illness, it is easy to lean on whatever coping mechanisms you have, even if they aren't ideal. So without adequate medical care, and a poor societal understanding of these conditions, it's no wonder some of us are using maladaptive coping skills.
All I am encouraging you to do, is read the ISSTD guidelines for the treatment of dissociative disorders. ISSTD Treatment Guidelines
I know many of us shy away from research because reading about fusion-oriented treatment is triggering, this document does not focus on fusion as the end goal for all treatment.
This document is a lengthy read. It covers screening methods, treatment methods, and does some myth-busting about dissociative disorders. It also covers some of the hypothesis about how DID and similar disorders may develop in our brains. I found this document enlightening.
Back to the behaviors I've noticed, many people seem to spend a lot of time and energy trying to map out, differentiate, count, and attribute characteristics to their parts/alters, beyond what is required for communication between the parts within the system. It often seems to be in an effort to communicate how the system feels "inside" to other people. I think it also makes it feel "more real" to some people. The research suggests that intentionally attributing qualities to your alters/parts beyond what differentiation naturally occurs within your system, is counter-therapeutic and does not help you function better.
I am not trying to suggest that alters can't split/become more differentiated after discovering you are a system. I am also not suggesting that systems can't naturally have high levels of differentiation between alters, such as feeling like alters have names, different ages, different genders, etc. I am simply saying, that according to research, the most helpful forms of treatment focus on improving communication between parts, not creating further separation.
Now, you are allowed to function within your system however you want. It's your body, your brain. But I wanted to make this post because I think there are a lot of people who have not had the opportunity to read credible research about our conditions. I am by no means perfect, nor am I an expert about these things, so feel free to give me feedback in the comments. If you got this far, thanks!

1. Arbitration Agreement

By agreeing to these Terms, you agree that you are required to resolve any claim that you may have against Uber on an individual basis in binding arbitration as set forth in this Arbitration Agreement, and not as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass and/or representative action. Binding arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted to one or more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. In choosing binding arbitration, you and Uber are opting for a private dispute resolution procedure where you agree to accept the arbitrator’s decision as final instead of going to court. You and Uber are each waiving your right to a jury trial.
This Arbitration Agreement will preclude you from bringing any class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative action against Uber, and also preclude you from participating in or recovering relief in any current or future class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass and/or representative action brought against Uber by someone else—except as provided below in Section 2(a)(3)(c). Thus, the parties agree that the Arbitrator shall not conduct any form of class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative arbitration, nor join, coordinate, or consolidate claims of multiple individuals against Uber in a single proceeding—except as provided below in Section 2(a)(3)(c). For the avoidance of doubt, except as provided below in Section 2(a)(3)(c), this Arbitration Agreement precludes you from bringing or participating in any kind of class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative or other kind of group, multi-plaintiff or joint action against Uber, other than participating in a classwide, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative settlement of claims.
(a) Agreement to Binding Arbitration Between You and Uber.
(1) Covered Disputes: Except as expressly provided below in Section 2(b), you and Uber agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy in any way arising out of or relating to (i) these Terms and prior versions of these Terms, or the existence, breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, scope, waiver, or validity thereof; (ii) your access to or use of the Services at any time; (iii) incidents or accidents resulting in personal injury or death to you or anyone else that you allege occurred in connection with your use of the Services (including, but not limited to, your use of the Uber Marketplace Platform or the driver version of the Uber App), regardless of whether the dispute, claim, or controversy occurred or accrued before or after the date you agreed to these Terms, and regardless of whether you allege that the personal injury or death was experienced by you or anyone else; and (iv) your relationship with Uber, will be settled by binding individual arbitration between you and Uber, and not in a court of law. This Arbitration Agreement survives after your relationship with Uber ends.
(2) Class Action Waiver: Any and all disputes, claims, or controversies between the parties shall be resolved only in individual arbitration. The parties expressly waive the right to have any dispute, claim, or controversy brought, heard, administered, resolved, or arbitrated as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative action, and neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider shall have any authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative action, or to award relief to anyone but the individual in arbitration. The parties also expressly waive the right to seek, recover, or obtain any non-individual relief. Notwithstanding anything else in this agreement, this Class Action Waiver does not prevent you or Uber from participating in a classwide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims.
The parties further agree that if for any reason a claim does not proceed in arbitration, this Class Action Waiver shall remain in effect, and a court may not preside over any action joining, coordinating, or consolidating the claims of multiple individuals against Uber in a single proceeding, except that this Class Action Waiver shall not prevent you or Uber from participating in a classwide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims. If there is a final judicial determination that any portion of this Class Action Waiver is unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (i) any class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative claims subject to the unenforceable or unlawful portion(s) shall proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction; (ii) the portion of the Class Action Waiver that is enforceable shall be enforced in arbitration; (iii) the unenforceable or unlawful portion(s) shall be severed from this Arbitration Agreement; and (iv) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful portion(s) shall have no impact whatsoever on the enforceability, applicability, or validity of the Arbitration Agreement or the arbitrability of any remaining claims asserted by you or Uber.
(3) Mass Actions:
a. Mass Action Waiver: Any and all disputes, claims, or controversies between the parties shall be resolved only in individual arbitration. The parties expressly waive the right to have any dispute, claim, or controversy brought, heard, administered, resolved, or arbitrated as a mass action, and neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider shall have any authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any mass action or to award relief to anyone but the individual in arbitration—except as provided below in Section 2(a)(3)(c). The parties also expressly waive the right to seek, recover, or obtain any non-individual relief. The parties agree that the definition of a “Mass Action” includes, but is not limited to, instances in which you or Uber are represented by a law firm or collection of law firms that has filed 50 or more arbitration demands of a substantially similar nature against the other party within 180 days of the arbitration demand filed on your or Uber’s behalf, and the law firm or collection of law firms seeks to simultaneously or collectively administer and/or arbitrate all the arbitration demands in the aggregate. Notwithstanding anything else in this agreement, this Mass Action Waiver does not prevent you or Uber from participating in a mass settlement of claims.
b. Dispute Procedure: Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the applicable arbitration provider’s rules, the arbitrator shall be empowered to determine whether the party bringing any claim has filed a Mass Action in violation of the Mass Action Waiver. Either party shall raise with the arbitrator or arbitration provider such a dispute within 15 days of its arising. If such a dispute arises before an arbitrator has been appointed, the parties agree that (i) a panel of three arbitrators shall be appointed to resolve only disputes concerning whether the party bringing any claim has filed a Mass Action in violation of the Mass Action Waiver. Each party shall select one arbitrator from the arbitration provider’s roster to serve as a neutral arbitrator, and these arbitrators shall appoint a third neutral arbitrator. If the parties’ arbitrators cannot agree on a third arbitrator, the arbitration provider will select the third arbitrator; (ii) Uber shall pay any administrative fees or costs incidental to the appointment of Arbitrators under this provision, as well as any fees or costs that would not be incurred in a court proceeding, such as payment of the fees of the arbitrators, as well as room rental; (iii) the arbitrators shall issue a written decision with findings of fact and conclusions of law; and (iv) any further arbitration proceedings or assessment of arbitration-related fees shall be stayed pending the arbitrators’ resolution of the parties’ dispute. If the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators determines that you have violated the Mass Action Waiver, the parties shall have the opportunity to opt out of arbitration within 30 days of the arbitrator’s or panel of arbitrator’s decision. You may opt out of arbitration by providing written notice of your intention to opt out to the arbitration provider and to Uber Technologies, Inc., Attn: Legal Department, 1725 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 via USPS Priority Mail or hand delivery. This written notice must be signed by you, and not any attorney, agent, or other representative of yours. Uber may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice of its intention to opt out to the arbitration provider and to you or your attorney, agent, or representative if you are represented. For the avoidance of doubt, the ability to opt out of arbitration described in this Section 2(a)(3)(b) only applies if the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators determines that you have violated the Mass Action Waiver. If the parties proceed with arbitration, the parties agree that arbitrations will be batched as provided in Section 2(a)(3)(c) below.
c. Batching:
i. To increase efficiency of resolution in the event a Mass Action is filed and neither party exercises its right to opt out of arbitration pursuant to Section 2(a)(3)(b) above, the following procedure shall apply. At the request of either party, an arbitrator shall be selected according to the applicable arbitration provider’s rules to act as a special master (“Special Master”) to resolve threshold disputes regarding the propriety of some or all the arbitration demands submitted in the Mass Action (“Mass Arbitration Demands”). These threshold disputes may include, but are not limited to:

1. Any dispute regarding filing fees owed with respect to the Mass Arbitration Demands, including whether claimants have submitted valid fee waivers;
   
2. Any dispute regarding whether the applicable arbitration provider has complied with the Arbitration Agreement with respect to processing and administering the Mass Arbitration Demands;
   
3. Any dispute regarding whether the Mass Arbitration Demands meet the requirements set forth in Section 2(d) below;
   
4. Whether claimants are barred from proceeding with their claims based on a prior settlement agreement, violation of these Terms, or expiration of the statute of limitations;
   
5. Any dispute relating to representation of the same claimant by multiple law firms;
   
6. Any dispute regarding whether the Mass Arbitration Demands were filed with the correct arbitration provider;
   
7. Any dispute regarding discovery common to all claims; and
   
8. Any disputes regarding legal or factual issues common to all claims.
   

Any such request shall be made within 15 days following the expiration of the opt-out period described in Section 2(a)(3)(b), and may be made by providing written notice to the arbitration provider. Upon the request of either party to appoint a Special Master to resolve the foregoing issues, the applicable arbitration provider shall refrain from further processing any of the Mass Arbitration Demands to which a dispute has been raised. No further payment for filing fees, administrative costs, or arbitrator fees shall be deemed due with respect to any of the Mass Arbitration Demands as to which a dispute has been raised until after the dispute(s) has/have been resolved by the Special Master. Uber shall be responsible for the applicable arbitration provider’s and Special Master’s fees and costs related to the proceedings before the Special Master.
A Special Master appointed pursuant to this procedure shall have no authority to consolidate cases.
ii. After proceedings before the Special Master have concluded, to the extent any of the Mass Arbitration Demands are permitted to proceed, the parties shall group the Mass Arbitration Demands into batches of no more than 100 demands per batch by state of residence, and then alphabetically by last name (plus, to the extent there are less than 100 arbitration demands left over after the batching described above, a final batch consisting of the remaining demands), and shall inform the arbitration provider of the batches and their compositions within 14 days of the conclusion of proceedings before the Special Master. The arbitration provider shall treat each batch of claims as one case, with each case having one demand for arbitration, one appointed arbitrator, and one set of administrative documents and administrative and filing fees per batch. The parties shall randomly assign sequential numbers to each batch, and only one batch shall proceed to arbitration at a time in the order of the random sequential numbers. A separate arbitrator will be appointed to, and administrative and filing fees assessed for, each batch as the batch proceeds to arbitration. You agree to cooperate in good faith with Uber and the arbitration provider to implement such a batch approach to resolution and fees. Nothing in this provision shall be construed as limiting the right to object that the filing or presentation of multiple arbitration demands by or with the assistance of the same law firm or organization violates any term of this Agreement.
iii. If any Mass Arbitration Demands were originally processed as individual arbitration demands before this batching procedure was commenced, further proceedings, including the assessment of further arbitration filing or administration fees to either party shall be governed by the procedures set forth in this Section 2(a)(3).
(4) Delegation Clause: Only an arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Arbitration Agreement, including without limitation any claim that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. An arbitrator shall also have exclusive authority to resolve all threshold arbitrability issues, including issues relating to whether these Terms are applicable, unconscionable, or illusory and any defense to arbitration, including without limitation waiver, delay, laches, or estoppel. However, only a court of competent jurisdiction, and not an arbitrator, shall have the exclusive authority to resolve any and all disputes arising out of or relating to the Class Action Waiver and Mass Action Waiver, including, but not limited to, any claim that all or part of the Class Action Waiver and/or Mass Action Waiver is unenforceable, unconscionable, illegal, void, or voidable—except that, as stated and pursuant to the procedures provided in Section 2(a)(3)(b), an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators shall have authority to determine whether the party bringing any claim has violated the Mass Action Waiver.
(5) Application to Third Parties: This Arbitration Agreement shall be binding upon, and shall include any claims brought by or against any third parties, including but not limited to your spouse, domestic partner, heirs, estate, third-party beneficiaries and assigns, where their underlying claims arise out of or relate to your use of the Services. To the extent that any third-party beneficiary to this agreement brings claims against the Parties, those claims shall also be subject to this Arbitration Agreement.
(b) Exceptions to Arbitration.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Arbitration Agreement shall not require arbitration of the following claims: (i) individual claims brought in small claims court so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual basis; (ii) individual claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment occurring in connection with your use of the Services; and/or (iii) injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights.
Such claims may be brought and litigated in a court of competent jurisdiction by you on an individual basis only. On an individual basis means that you cannot bring such claims as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative action against Uber. For the avoidance of doubt, this precludes you from bringing claims as or participating in any kind of any class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, and/or representative or other kind of group, multi-plaintiff, or joint action against Uber and no action brought by you may be consolidated or joined in any fashion with any other proceeding. Where your claims are brought and litigated to completion on such an individual basis in a court of competent jurisdiction, Uber agrees to honor your election.
The parties’ agreement not to require arbitration in these limited instances does not waive the enforceability of this Arbitration Agreement as to any other provision (including, but not limited to, the waivers provided for in Section 2(a), which will continue to apply in court as well as in arbitration), or the enforceability of this Arbitration Agreement as to any other controversy, claim, or dispute.
(c) Rules and Governing Law.
For disputes arising in California, the arbitration will be administered by ADR Services, Inc. (“ADR”) in accordance with ADR’s Arbitration Rules (the “ADR Rules”) in effect at the time that the claim is brought, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. The ADR Rules are available at www.adrservices.com or by searching for “ADR Arbitration Rules” using a search engine such as www.google.com. The arbitration shall be heard by one arbitrator (the “Arbitrator”) selected in accordance with the ADR Rules.
For disputes arising outside of California (or for disputes arising in California only if ADR cannot or will not administer the arbitration), the parties shall be required to meet and confer to select a neutral arbitration provider. Such an arbitration provider shall have operations in the state in which the dispute arises. If the parties are unable to mutually agree upon an arbitration provider, then either party may invoke 9 U.S.C. § 5 to request that a court of competent jurisdiction appoint an arbitration provider with operations in the state in which the dispute arises. Any arbitration provider appointed by a court under 9 U.S.C. § 5 shall conduct arbitration solely on an individualized basis as set forth in this Section 2. Once the parties mutually agree upon a neutral arbitration provider, or an arbitrator provider is appointed under 9 U.S.C. § 5, the ensuing arbitration shall commence pursuant to the rules of the designated arbitration provider, except as designated herein. Once an arbitration provider is agreed upon or appointed, an Arbitrator shall be appointed. The Arbitrator will be either (1) a retired judge or (2) an attorney licensed to practice law in the state where the arbitration is conducted with experience in the law underlying the dispute. The Arbitrator will be selected by the parties from the applicable arbitration provider’s roster of arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an Arbitrator after a good faith meet and confer effort, then the applicable arbitration provider will appoint the Arbitrator in accordance with its rules.
Notwithstanding any choice of law or other provision in these Terms, the parties agree and acknowledge that this Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce and that the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. (“FAA”), will govern its interpretation and enforcement and proceedings pursuant thereto. It is the intent of the parties to be bound by the provisions of the FAA for all purposes, including, but not limited to, interpretation, implementation, enforcement, and administration of this Arbitration Agreement, and that the FAA and the applicable arbitration provider’s rules shall preempt all state laws to the fullest extent permitted by law. All statutes of limitations that would otherwise be applicable will apply to any arbitration proceeding. If the FAA and applicable arbitration provider’s rules are found to not apply to any issue regarding the interpretation or enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement, then that issue shall be resolved under the laws of the state where you reside when you accept these Terms.
Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to incidents or accidents resulting in personal injury (including but not limited to sexual assault or harassment claims) or death that you allege occurred in connection with your use of the Services, whether before or after the date you agreed to the Terms, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state in which the incident or accident occurred.
(d) Process.
Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution and Notification. The parties agree that good-faith informal efforts to resolve disputes often can result in a prompt, low-cost, and mutually beneficial outcome. The parties therefore agree that, before either party demands arbitration against the other, we will personally meet and confer, via telephone or videoconference, in a good-faith effort to resolve informally any claim covered by this Arbitration Agreement. Multiple individuals initiating claims cannot participate in the same informal telephonic dispute resolution conference. If you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you shall also fully participate in the conference. The party initiating the claim must give notice to the other party in writing of their intent to initiate an informal dispute resolution conference, which shall occur within 60 days after the other party receives such notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed upon by the parties. To notify Uber that you intend to initiate an informal dispute resolution conference, write to Uber Technologies, Inc., Attn: Legal Department, 1725 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, providing your name, the telephone number(s) associated with your Uber account (if any), the email address(es) associated with your Uber account, and a description of your claim. Engaging in an informal dispute resolution conference is a condition precedent that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration, and the Arbitrator shall dismiss any arbitration demand filed before completion of an informal dispute resolution conference. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the informal dispute resolution process required by this paragraph.
Initiating Arbitration. In order to initiate arbitration following the conclusion of the informal dispute resolution process required by this Section, a party must provide the other party with a written demand for arbitration and file the demand with the applicable arbitration provider, as determined by Section 2(c). A party initiating an arbitration against Uber must send the written demand for arbitration to Uber Technologies, Inc., LLC, Attn: Legal Department, 1725 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, or serve the Demand on Uber’s registered agent for service of process, c/o Uber Technologies, Inc. (the name and current contact information for the registered agent in each state are available online here). Additionally, a party initiating arbitration against Uber must send an electronic version of the demand for arbitration to the Arbitration Provider, and must send an electronic version of the as-filed demand to filed-arbitration-demands@uber.com.
By signing the demand for arbitration, counsel certifies to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that (i) the demand for arbitration is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (ii) the claims and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (iii) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery. The Arbitrator shall be authorized to afford any relief or impose any sanctions available under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 or any applicable state law for either party’s violation of this requirement.
(e) Location.
Unless you and Uber otherwise agree, if you reside in the United States, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If you do not reside in the United States, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where the dispute arises. Your right to a hearing will be determined by the applicable arbitration provider’s rules. Subject to the applicable arbitration provider’s rules, the Arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.
(f) Offers of Judgment.
At least 10 days before the date set for the arbitration hearing, any party may serve an offer in writing upon the other party to allow judgment on specified terms. If the offer is accepted, the offer with proof of acceptance shall be submitted to the arbitrator, who shall enter judgment accordingly. If the offer is not accepted prior to the arbitration hearing or within 30 days after it is made, whichever occurs first, it shall be deemed withdrawn, and cannot be given in evidence upon the arbitration. If an offer made by one party is not accepted by the other party, and the other party fails to obtain a more favorable award, the other party shall not recover their post-offer costs and shall pay the offering party’s costs from the time of the offer.
(g) Arbitrator’s Decision.
The Arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the applicable arbitration provider’s rules. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The Arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. An Arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on all parties.
The Arbitrator is not bound by decisions reached in separate arbitrations, and the Arbitrator’s decision shall be binding only upon the parties to the arbitration that are the subject of the decision.
The Arbitrator shall award reasonable costs incurred in the arbitration to the prevailing party in accordance with the law(s) of the state in which arbitration is held.
(h) Fees.
With the exception of the provisions governing payment of arbitration costs set forth above, your responsibility to pay any filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the applicable arbitration provider’s rules and shall be up to the amount you would be required to pay if you filed a claim in court.
If you have a gross monthly income of less than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines, you are entitled to a waiver of arbitration fees and costs, exclusive of arbitrator fees. If you believe that you meet the requirements to obtain a fee waiver, and your demand for arbitration arises outside of California, then you may request a fee waiver only by submitting to the arbitration provider AO 240, Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (found here), or a declaration under oath containing all the information required by AO 240; if your demand for arbitration arises in California, then you must submit a declaration under oath providing your monthly income and the number of persons in your household.
Any and all disputes regarding a party’s obligation to pay any arbitration fees or costs that arise after an arbitrator is appointed shall be determined solely by the arbitrator. If such a dispute arises before an arbitrator has been appointed, and if no Special Master has been requested by either party pursuant to Section 2(a)(3)(c)(i) of these Terms, the parties agree that (i) the due date for any disputed fees shall be stayed pending resolution of the parties’ dispute, (ii) a panel of three arbitrators shall be appointed to resolve the parties’ dispute concerning a party’s obligation to pay fees or costs of arbitration, (iii) the panel of arbitrators shall be appointed by each party selecting one arbitrator from the arbitration provider’s roster to serve as neutral arbitrators, and these arbitrators shall appoint a third neutral arbitrator. If the parties’ arbitrators cannot agree on a third arbitrator, the arbitration administrator will select the third arbitrator, (iv) Uber shall pay any administrative fees or costs incidental to the appointment of a panel of arbitrators under this provision, as well as any fees or costs that would not be incurred in a court proceeding, such as payment of the fees of the arbitrator(s), as well as room rental, and (v) the arbitrator(s) shall issue a written decision with findings of fact and conclusions of law. If two or more fee disputes between a claimant and Uber arise at or around the same time, the disputes may be consolidated for resolution by a single arbitrator or panel of arbitrators either at the agreement of the parties or the election of the party common to all such disputes.
(i) Severability and Survival.
If any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (i) the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall be severed from these Terms; (ii) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement or the parties’ ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to the Arbitration Agreement; and (iii) to the extent that any claims must therefore proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration, and the parties agree that litigation of those claims shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration.

Wife applied for ssi/ssdi a year back, she just got approved for indigent medical assistance 100% and said we are at 123% poverty level. What guidelines does SSI use if this is even a factor? She has medical issues galore, which I have mentioned in other threads. The letter also said the hospital referred her to Resource Corp of America for financial help. Not sure what that is exactly. Does SSI and the SSA consider this in evaluation of her case? Is it good or bad? Should I send copies of these approval for assistance letters to SSI? My thinking is YES because it shows a dire need. But I want some feedback. Thanks

I'd first like to send a ton of gratitude to you all. You've been extremely helpful throughout this process.
I (USC petitioner) am planning on submitting an I-129F for my fiancé (beneficiary) in July. We both live in Europe and are planning to quit our jobs in November to travel together. I'm aware of the I-134 affidavit of support, I have enough "assets" to qualify. Plus, I doubt a job in Europe would hold much clout for USCIS to qualify me for the I-134 Affidavit of support as I would obviously have to quit my job once my fiancé receives her K1 Visa and we move to the states, making my salary disappear non-existent once we move.
If anybody has experience with these questions below, I would be incredibly grateful.

1. When filling out my physical address on form I-129F, I fully intend to be honest and transparent and update my physical address once I quit my job to travel. The problem is, I won't have a physical address as I'll be traveling. My fiancé has family in Europe, should we put this as our physical address?
   
2. When is the I-134 Affidavit of Support sent in? Does my fiancé bring this form with her to her interview appointment at the US embassy? If I'm using "assets" to meet the required amount (5x125% of the poverty guidelines), will stocks in a taxable brokerage account qualify?
   

Any other suggestions you all might have, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

Original Article: https://www.mortgagesensei.co/blog/how-to-get-a-mortgage-as-a-first-time-home-buyer

This is a common question that I answer all the time. It’s easy to explain but may be difficult to execute. No worries! I’m going to lay it all out in the simplest and easiest way possible. At the end of this blog, you will know what financial areas you should focus your attention on as a first time home buyer
Understanding the 5 Pillars of a home loan will help you identify the financial factors that a lender evaluates to determine if you’re eligible for a home loan. In this article, we’re going to focus solely on what it takes for you to become a well-qualified borrower. If you simply focus on that and develop good financial habits, you will soon find yourself in a position to not just be able to qualify for a home loan, but to be considered a well-qualified borrower in the eyes of lenders, realtors, sellers, or anyone else involved in the home buying process. Take your time to read through this, and feel free to reach out to me here for any assistance that you may have.

What credit score do you need to buy a house for the first time?

Depending on your selected home loan program, you could qualify for a home loan with as low as a 500 FICO credit score. However, let’s not worry about “how low of a credit score can I have and still qualify for a home loan?” and focus instead on “what do I need to financially focus on daily?” With that being said, I recommend focusing on the FICO factors that impact your credit the most. Using myFICO Education as a guide:
Payment History (35%): This is simple to understand—don’t miss any minimum monthly payments for ANY of your credit accounts. A lot of people, when they read this, will say, “No duh, Sensei!”. Well, if it’s that obvious, why are so many people missing the mark here? There are many reasons, but I’ll list two:

1. Over-extending your credit/spending capacity, and
2. Limited amount of emergency/reserve funds.

Did you know that you only need a TOTAL of 3-4 credit accounts aged for 2+ years and properly managed to get a 700+ FICO score! Keeping your total credit accounts under 5 will help you in managing your credit accounts to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Here’s my recommended financial habits to help you in raising your credit score:

1. Frugal spending habits: “How much you keep is slightly more important than how much you bring in”. One of my favorite books is “The Richest Man in Babylon”. The concept is pretty simple: “Priority saving and investing over any other spending choices”.
2. Fanatical saving: One of the main reasons people credit suffers is through some kind of financial hardship whether that’s unexpected medical expenses, job loss, or something that tends to be outside of your control. Having enough savings to weather the storm for months or even years, will give you a large enough financial safety net to make it through recessions, rapid inflation, unexpected expenses, etc.

Amounts Owed/Credit Utilization (30%): Our areas of focus are:

1. Revolving: “how much of your credit limit is drawn and owed.”
2. Installments: “how much of the credit debt is still owed compared to your starting amount.”

Developing frugal spending habits will greatly help you in keeping your credit utilization low. I understand that emergencies come up and you have to use your credit cards, but the truth of the matter is that FICO doesn't care about your emergencies, or why your credit cards are maxed out. They only care that your credit card is maxed out. If you cannot quickly pay down your credit card balance under 10%-30% of the credit limit within 30 days of charging it, then you probably should not charge the product/service to your credit card.
Negative Status: Collections, charge-offs, repossessions, bankruptcies, foreclosures, Late payments within 2-years, etc. You can do everything right, and getting one of these can set you back overnight. All of these derogatory events result from some negative financial event that occurred, whether unintentional or intentional, the results will be the same. For those who have been victims of identity theft, you know from experience that creditors don’t care that your identity was stolen and a criminal damaged your credit. All they’re going to tell you is “take responsibility in fixing your credit.” Working towards preventing these negative financial events from reporting on your credit or removing them from your credit is your third focus. If you need help, reach out to Kredit Kleanse for expert credit repair assistance, or schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

How much income do I need to buy a home?

After the 2008 housing crash, our government implemented S.A.F.E. requirements for lenders to do their due diligence to ensure that the borrower is protected from predatory lending. One of the main focuses was on DTI (Debt-to-Income ratio). For the sake of this blog, I’m only going to focus on two aspects of DTI that are more relevant to this article:
Total Income: In this case, the borrower simply doesn’t make enough to afford the home regardless of how little debt they may have. For instance, the borrower earns $100,000 per year for income and wants to purchase a $1,000,000 home. Those numbers, in most cases, won’t work. Here’s my personal calculation: whatever your “total annual income” multiplied by 3x-4x should put you in the range of a home you can afford AND still enjoy life/save/invest/etc. This is not stating what you will qualify for, but simply a measuring equation to see if you are in the ballpark. Please note that (1) your area could be more or less expensive, (2) current interest rates, and (3) the lender you choose WILL affect your final qualification. The best course of action here is to either:

1. Increase your qualifying income: This is VERY tough conversation to have, and honestly the part of the job that never sits quite right with me. But truth is truth regardless of how I feel about it. Ways to increase your income are:
   1. Ask for a raise
   2. Go for that promotion
   3. Create passive income
   4. Start a business/side hustle (you’ll need a 2-year history of having that business)
   5. Get a 2nd job (you’ll need a 2-year history of working both jobs)
   6. Add a co-borrowesigner
   7. Obtain a higher paying job
2. Reduce your housing price if possible: I’ve helped people that simply weren’t able to increase their income, maybe because they are retired on fixed income, can’t change jobs due to their needed benefits or family, etc. To those people I would suggest reducing they’re home buying price by adjusting their home search parameters. The more flexible you are on the type, location, etc. of your new home, the more options you will start to have. Maybe a smaller starter-type home is what you need.

Usable Income: In this case, the borrower makes enough “gross income”; however, the challenge is the borrower has too many debt obligations that are eating away at the potential income we could use for a housing payment for the home they want. This is normally when the lender will tell you “your DTI is too high to qualify”. The best course of action here is to reduce/eliminate your monthly credit debt obligation. You can use a method called “debt-snowball”. The debt snowball method is a debt payoff strategy that involves paying off debts from smallest to largest balance. Once a debt is paid off, the money that was previously allocated to that debt is then used to pay off the next smallest debt. This strategy can help build momentum and keep you motivated as you pay off your debts. As each debt is paid off, payments increase in size, similar to a snowball rolling down a hill. We are also able to help our clients quickly identify exactly which credit accounts to pay off to move the DTI ratio meter the most. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

How much cash should you have before buying a house?

Lastly, we have to address the “Where’s the money coming from?” aspect. This is the red pill of our housing market/economy. Meaning that it’s ALWAYS better to bring money to the table over not bring anything. You have to be able to invest in the purchase of your home. The ideal scenario is a borrower that can fully fund all expenses needed to purchase a home without needing any assistance. Now don’t get me wrong, we will help anyone get into a home. However, if we look at the true data, people that need financial assistance to buy a home tend to have a more difficult time becoming homeowners: (1) loan programs are too restrictive, (2) sellers don’t want to sell to someone using a loan assistance program, (3) they’re not able to qualify for as much house as a traditional loan program, etc. These are the four areas you should consider:
Down Payment: This normally ranges from a minimum of 3%-5% for primary residence loan programs. If you don’t have the funds, there may be a home down payment assistance program available for you.
Closing Costs: Title costs, government recording fees, appraisal fee, credit report fee, setting up your prepaid/escrow account for property taxes and homeowners insurance, etc. This normally ranges from 3%-6% of the purchase price, depending on the area.
Moving Expenses: Will you need to rent a moving truck, hire movers, take time off from work, pay for deposits for utility hookups, build new furniture, throw a housewarming party, etc.? Many lenders will tap you out at closing, and you may be blinded by the excitement of buying your first home and you simply forget about these costs that are unrelated to buying a home. This is an unknown number because everyone is different. All I’m doing here is making sure you’re aware of this and plan for it the best way you can.
Once you add up everything the starting line is anywhere between 6-11% of the purchase price. If you don’t have it or simply don’t want to spend that amount, then you’ll need to work with the right people that have a strong understanding of creativity financing. schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

Give it to me straight and don’t sugarcoat it Sensei!

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the grittiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure meeting. Some of those people “had no hope” of buying a home as a first time home buyer. What allowed them to become homeowners was knowing how the game works. It’s like golf—if you don’t know how to (1) pick the right club, (2) examine the landscape, and (3) swing with the right technique using the right amount of force and accuracy, you’ll easily get tired of “trying” to play golf. There are a lot of people today who are trying to buy a home, instead of actually being able to buy a home.
One of the biggest misconceptions, in my opinion, is that people are trying to get a lender to qualify or approve them for a home loan, instead of just being a well-qualified buyer for a home loan before they even reach out to the lender to “verify their financial status”. Credit, repayment ability, funds needed for closing—these are your core pillars that truly make up the borrower aspect of a home loan.
I’ve been in this business since 2011, and I can tell you without a doubt that traditional loans walk, look, and act similar. Yeah, there are guideline differences, but the truth of the matter is that even with these differences, the essence of the home loan is still the same. Working with someone that has these core home loan assessment experience will put you on the right track FAST. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

What would you do Sensei?

The 5 Pillars of a home loan are made up of: Credit, Repayment Ability, Funds Needed for Closing, Subject Property, and Loan Program. For this subject of “How to get a mortgage as a first-time buyer,” you have to find out what you qualify for. My recommended sequence of focus is: (1) Credit, (2) Repayment Ability, (3) Funds Needed for Closing, (4) Loan Program, and (5) Subject Property.
Here’s the honest truth:

1. Before you go under contract to purchase a home (i.e., subject property), you should know what you qualify for (i.e., loan terms/program),
2. Before you know what you qualify for (i.e., loan terms/program), you will have to go through the lender’s evaluation process (pre-qualification/pre-approval),
3. When you go through the lender’s evaluation process (pre-qualification/pre-approval), we will be verifying and evaluating your credit, repayment ability, and available funds for closing.

When you want to buy a home your credit, repayment ability, and available funds are the areas that YOU control. A lender does not control these aspects of your financial life. Your financial habits do. These three (credit, repayment ability, and funds needed for closing) are the pillars that you build up to be in a position to purchase a home. The last two (loan program and subject property) are the aspects of the home loan process that are more of an effect of the first three pillars.
We live in an instant gratification society and want everything now, fast, and easy. The truth of the matter is, that’s not how buying a home works. Now let’s be clear, your home-buying process can and should be simple and easy. If it’s not, you’re probably working with the wrong loan officelender. But you should not expect it to be “instant.” It takes time to buy a home, even more so to buy a home “right.”
When you first enter the housing market to purchase a home, you may have some challenges ahead. However, if you stay focused and dedicated, you will find the right home for you and your family. By following these steps and being prepared, you can increase your chances of securing a home loan and becoming a homeowner. It’s important to be patient and diligent throughout the process, as it can take time and effort to achieve your goal of homeownership. We are here to help you every step of the way. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.
Happy house hunting! - Mortgage Sensei "Financing Futures, Building Dreams"
Author Bio:
Nelson C. Thompson, Jr., President of The Mortgage Sensei Company. With years of experience in the mortgage industry, Nelson specializes in helping first time home buyers navigate the complexities of obtaining a mortgage. His mission is “Financing Futures and Building Dreams”
References

• List any sources or references used in the blog post.:
• Mortgage Sensei - 5 Pillars of a home loan - https://www.mortgagesensei.co/blog/5-pillars-of-a-home-loan
• myFICO.com - Education - https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score
• FICO - https://www.fico.com/
• Kredit Kleanse - https://kreditkleanse.com/
• NMLS Resoruce Center - https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/safe/SitePages/default.aspx
• CFPB - https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-debt-to-income-ratio-en-1791/
• Mortgage Sensei - Home Page - https://www.mortgagesensei.co/
• Special Thanks to Gustan Cho Associates’s GCA FORUM: https://forum.gustanchoassociates.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fforum.gustanchoassociates.com
• Special Thanks to NEXA Mortgage: https://nexamortgage.com/
• Special Thanks to Candice Thompson: https://candinichelle.co/
• Special Thanks to Whitni Bell: https://whitnibell.exprealty.com/

i know this question has probably been asked many times on this thread, but i’ve found very mixed answers. i’ve seen on reddit that there is no longer a 3 year income monitoring period for TPD discharge, and the forms/website are outdated in listing that requirement. im specifically applying for discharge via psychologists note, and i do not currently receive SSI/SSDI benefits.
is there still a 3 year income monitoring period stating that you can’t make over the poverty guidelines for a family of 2?

Please message me to purchase downloads for $4 each. Cashapp, Venmo & Zelle are the payment options. Thanks!
Fatal Dose - 1998
Freaknik - 1998
I'm A Porn Star - 1998
I'm A Pro Wrestler - 1999
I'm A Hacker - 1999
I Need Sex RX - 1999 - 20 minutes
I'm A Model - 1999 - 20 minutes
I'm A Football Hero - 2000
I'm On Crystal Meth - 2000
I'm On The Runway - 2000
I'm Horny in Miami - 2000 - 20 minutes
I'm Going To Mardi Gras - 2000 - 20 minutes
I Live in a Brothel - 2000 - 20 minutes
I'm An Actor - 2000
The Travelers - 2000
I'm On Ecstasy - 2000
I'm A Backyard Wrestler - 2000 - 20 minutes
I'm A Candidate - 2000
I'm An Actress - 2001 - 20 minutes
I Drive Race Cars - 2001
I'm a Cheerleader - 2001
I'm A Beauty Queen - 2001
I'm A Private Wrestler - 2002 - 26 minutes
I'm Getting Plastic Surgery - 2002
I'm Coming Out - 2002 ( audio dubbed over in another language so it is a little hard to hear the English )
I Have Embarrassing Parents - 2002
I'm in Therapy - 2002
I'm Getting Married - 2002
I'm Going To Fat Camp - 2002
I'm Getting Breast Implants - 2002
I Was Famous for 15 Minutes - 2003 - 20 minutes
I Have a Phobia -2003
I'm Adopted -2003
I've Got Baby Mama Drama -2003
I Live In The Terror Zone - 2003
I'm a Binge Drinker - 2003
I'm A Gamer - 2003
I'm A College Baller - 2003
I'm Breaking Up - 2003
School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas - 2003
I'm A High School Senior - 2003
I Want The Perfect Body - 2003 ( only the segments with bodybuilder Anthony Monetti )
I'm A Street Racer - 2003
I'm an Urban Cheerleader - 2003
I'm Hooked on OxyContin -2003
I'm a Little Person -2003
I'm A Clubber - 2003
I Have A Summer Share - 2003
I'm In Iraq - 2004
I'm On Adderall - 2004
I'm Surviving High School - 2004 ( missing some )
I'm in an Interracial Relationship - 2004 ( only the segments with one couple )
I Live To Ride - 2004
I Have OCD - 2005
I'm on a diet - 2005
I'm On Trial By Fire - 2006
I'm a Competitive Eater - 2006
I'm Addicted to Crystal Meth - 2006
Fat Camp - 2006
Return To Fat Camp - 2007
I'm having a summer romance - 2007
I'm looking for my father - 2007
Camp'd Out: I'm Going to Performing Arts Camp - 2009
I'm polyamorous - 2009
I'm eloping - 2009
I cant leave my boyfriend - 2009
Resist The Power! Saudi Arabia - 2010

I cant get over my first love - 2011
I have a fetish - 2011
I'm a textaholic - 2011
I'm too young for my boyfriend - 2011
Marijuana biz - 2011
I'm a sugar baby - 2011

I'm Addicted To Heroin - 2012
I live with my ex - 2012
I work with my ex - 2012
I'm giving my boyfriend a ultimatum - 2012
I'm working my way out of poverty - 2012

I need to leave my mom - 2013
I'm addicted to pills - 2013
Greatest Moments Ever - 2013
I'm Having Unusual Plastic Surgery - 2013
I'm a Bridesmaid - 2013
I'm a Surrogate - 2013
I Can't Control My Pet - 2013
I Hate the Government - 2013
I Have a High Maintenance Girlfriend - 2013
I'm Addicted to Tanning - 2013
I'm Questioning My Gender Again - 2013
I'm Living In My Sibling's Shadow - 2013
I'm Dating a Mama's Boy - 2013
I Need to Leave My Mom - 2013
I Have Social Anxiety - 2013
I'm Too Beautiful - 2013
I'm Addicted to the Internet - 2013
Secrets, Lies and Sex - 2013
I'm Starting a Business with My Friends - 2013
I Hate His Bromance - 2013
I Have an Embarrassing Boyfriend - 2013
I'm Desperate to Have a Baby - 2013
I Have a Family Who Hates My Boyfriend - 2013
I'm Saving Detroit - 2013
Bachata Nights - 2013
My Dad is a Bro - 2013
Updates from the Road - 2013
I'm Famous Online - 2013

I'm Hooked On Molly - 2014
I need to change my man - 2014
I want a threesome - 2014
I'm Drunkorexic - 2014
I Want to Be an Obscure Pageant Queen - 2014
I Want Respect for my Sect - 2014
I'm Preparing for the End of the World - 2014
The Benjamins - 2014
I'm a Gay Athlete - 2014
I Want a Threesome - 2014
I'm Dating My Best Friend's Ex - 2014
I Want My Ex Back - 2014
I Have a Strange Phobia - 2014
My Boyfriend's Fed Up With My Weight - 2014
Crazy Young Love - 2014
I'm Dating My Opposite - 2014
I'm Being Recruited - 2014
I'm Breaking Up With My Religion - 2014
then and now

I'm A New Millionaire - 2015
I'm Dating a Cougar - 2015
My Fetish Is Ruining My Life - 2015
I'm Moving Overseas for Love - 2015
Hip-Hop Hustlers - 2015
I'm Genderqueer - 2015
I'm Starting a Religion - 2015
I'm a Gay for Pay Pornstar - 2015
I'm Living Anime - 2015
I'm a Cyborg - 2015
I Had My Cousin's Baby - 2015
I Hate My Butt - 2015
I'm Having Second Thoughts - 2015
My Fetish Is Ruining My Life - 2015
Save My Teen Marriage - 2015
my parents love their weed - 2015
I'm on an extreme diet - 2015

I Have a Trans Parent - 2016
I Have a Dangerous Eating Obsession - 2016
I'm Fighting My Faith - 2016
I'm Dating With HIV - 2016
I'm Obsessed With My Ex - 2016
My Parents Are in Porn - 2016
I'm Married to a Stranger - 2016
I'm a Witch - 2016
I'm On Smart Drugs - 2016
Hooked - 2016
We Are Orlando - 2016
I'm a Go-Go God - 2016
I'm a Financial Dominatrix - 2016
I Want to Go Fight ISIS - 2016
I'm an Adult Baby - 2016
I Need Danger Sex - 2016
I Can't Have an Orgasm - 2016
We Are Transitioning - 2016
I'm Tripping on Ayahuasca - 2016
I have a feeding fetish - 2016
I've been shot - 2016
I have misophonia - 2016
I'm joining a commune - 2016

Suprabhat, Vannakam, Adab and Welcome to the 2024 LOK SABHA GENERAL ELECTION THUNDERDOME
NO RULES, NO LIMITS, ONLY CHAOS.
Election Commission's official website:
Indian Express commentary page:
The Hindu commentary page:
The Print commentary page:
THE CAGE:-
India is a parliamentary democracy that follows the first-past-the-post voting system, similar to the standard Westminster System. The Lower House of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) consists of 543 seats representing 543 constituencies that send 1 Member of Parliament (MP) each. These 543 MP's then choose a prime minister via simple majority.
For each constituency, a political party gives a ticket to a single Candidate. The Candidate with at least a plurality of votes in a constituency represents that Constituency in parliament as a member of the party.
There are no party level primaries in India, the candidate for a constituency is decided by the party high command and only one person from a party can be on the ticket for a particular seat. You can contest multiple constituencies though from the same party as Narendra Modi (2014 BJP Candidate for both Varanasi and Vadodara) and Rahul Gandhi (2024 Congress Candidate for both Rae Bareili and Wayanad) have done. If no existing political party gives you a ticket, you can contest as an Independent Candidate or form your own party and contest as a member of your own party.
The government can be formed by the party or the alliance that has a simple majority of MP's. When no single political party has a majority of MP's, an alliance of various parties can be formed that contains the majority of MP's. This is called a post-poll alliance, where the parties contest elections separately but might come together after the elections in order to form the government or be part of the government. However there is also the pre-poll alliance where political parties join or form an alliance before the elections. In a pre poll alliance, the alliance party will strategically choose how many and which seats each alliance partner will contest to maximize their chance of winning
KEY NUMBERS

Majority	272
Supermajority	362
Total Seats	543

THE DATES :- 19th April, 26th April, 7th May, 13th May, 20th May, 25th May, 1st June
THE RESULTS :-
THE EXIT POLLS :-
On average, most exit polls gave the following results.
Exit polls are surveys conducted after people have voted, asking them who they voted for, to predict the likely result before the official count is completed.

SOURCE	NDA	INDI ALLIANCE	OTHERS
AXIS MY INDIA	361-401	131-166	8-10
TODAY'S CHANAKYA	385-415	96-118	27-45
CNX	371-401	109-139	28-38
CVOTER	353-383	152-182	4-12
ETG	358	132	53
POLL OF POLLS	379	136	28

More detailed poll results
THE FIGHTS -
Economy & Employment:
The incumbent BJP-led NDA government makes the positive case of economic growth and development under its decade long tenure. It points to strong rejuvenated GDP growth with relatively low inflation, rising wages, a growing middle class, stable macroeconomic positioning, strong spending, slashing of multidimensional poverty, a strong and well administered welfare state, expanded free trade, sharp reduction in regulation, increase in select manufacturing and industry, a revitalized finance sector, and a thriving service market.
The government points to the large-scale infrastructure development undertaken, expanding roadways, delivering expansive electrification, and provisions of basic utility services. They point to the stagnation and policy paralysis observed under the tenure of the last Congress government (UPA 2), and further make point to the opposition's alleged proposed populist economic programs as untenable and unfeasible. They make the case that the opposition has leftist economic policies that are not grounded in economic reality.
The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, makes the negative case against the incumbents, pointing to large scale youth unemployment, even among educated youth. They point to an alleged inability of the government to tie growth to employment. They allege a failure of manufacturing capacity and sufficient industrialization of the economy, highlighting the lack of sufficient private capital inflows. They criticize the growth figures of the economy by casting doubt on the government's statistics, and focusing extensively on growing wealth inequality, alleging that growth only occurs for the rich billionaire class, with minimal relief for the poor, targeting specific attacks against domestic industrial magnates, Adani and Ambani. They allege favoritism on the part of the incumbent government towards their select base, highlighting the state of Gujarat as being prioritized over other states.
In making their positive case, they propose a more inclusive and redistributive model of growth, proposing heightened subsidization programmes, more welfare and support programmes, higher taxation on the wealthy and corporations, leveraging private capital inflows for infrastructure development, and prioritizing equitable growth through a caste census, developing corrective policies for inequalities between castes.
They aim to solve the employment crisis through expanding roles in state enterprises and filling government vacancies, alongside expanding labour intensive industries like manufacturing and mining, whilst pointing to high growth rates of the economy as well as committing to expand manufacturing through reforms and subsidy platforms like the PLI, FAME etc., further claiming that increased infrastructure spending will lead to crowding in effect thus enabling faster industrialization.
Social Justice:
The issues of social equity and justice have become major cornerstones of both the incumbent and opposition electoral platforms. This is most prevalent through the forthcoming section on sectarianism, but also focuses on key issues regarding class equality and - most importantly - caste-based discrimination.
The incumbent BJP-led NDA government point to their solid track record of universal poverty alleviation, targeted successful welfare and affirmative action programmes. The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, point to growing wealth inequality and apparent institutional and systemic discrimination against underprivileged caste communities in academia, employment, governmental programmes, courts, the military, etc. They allege that the government has not committed to taking resolute and definitive action against casteism through corrective policy.
This all boils down to the Reservation system, a large scale, affirmative action initiative, conducted through a systematic quota-based policy of allotment of institutional positions in education, governmental employment, schemes and programmes, direct political representation, etc.
With reservations estimated to have hit 59.5% of Central Government Institutional positions, there are now broader calls to expand the scale and scope of this drive. The opposition wanting to break the cap limits and even introduce this system into the private sector to potentially induce parity, while the government commits to more modest hikes of upto 62.5% while playing into incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's identity as a member of an underprivileged caste community.
While the opposition campaigns on removing limits to the quota system to deliver equity, the government alleges these commitments to be populist and detrimental, while alleging that the opposition seeks to potentially appease its Muslim voter base by introducing expanded reservations for Muslims, thereby allegedly sabotaging the disadvantaged Hindu lower castes, and redistributing their wealth to Muslims, in a bid to gain their votes.
Communalism:
Both the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and the INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition have framed communalism as a lynchpin issue of the Election. The incumbent government points to alleged casteist and bigoted rhetoric against select caste groups and Hindus. They allege the opposition panders to minorities for their votes, whilst not delivering on the real issues. They allege the opposition seeks to drive up divisiveness and shared social harmony in India. They further allege that the opposition engages in divisive rhetoric on key issues of Hindu-Indian culture like that of the Ram Temple, in ways that contradict the spirit of the Indian State.
The opposition on the other hand, accused the incumbent government of being bigoted against minority communities, from the large Muslim community to the lower caste communities of Indian society. They allege use of hateful and divisive rhetoric against these communities and point to select controversial government positions and policies on issues like the Ram Mandir, the controversial CAA-NRC laws, the proposed Uniform Civil Code, among others. They further allege institutional degradation of key offices including policing, academia, and the military in discriminating against minority groups.
Institutional Independence:
The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition alleges institutional degradation and capture of various independent governmental entities by the incumbents. They point to the use of Executive, Investigative, Anti-Corruption, Enforcement, & Tax authorities against opposition figures and media as evidence, highlighting specific cases of the detaining and arrest of two sitting opposition Chief Ministers, and the resignation of one. They highlight alleged selective targeting of opposition figures for raids, charges, and arrests, creating an alleged environment of impunity for the government. The opposition alleges heightened and blatant partisanship of members of the Judiciary in support of the incumbent government. They also allege illegitimate freezing of campaigning funds, crackdowns on press freedoms via capture of media institutions, and also critically alleges institutional capture of the Election Commission, casting doubts on election results primarily critiquing India's Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
The Government rebukes these claims as part of a strong anti-corruption drive, highlighting a drop in governmental corruption cases since the previous Congress government (UPA 2, infamously riddled with such allegations). The government frames the opposition parties as corrupt and power-hungry, while further disparaging the opposition's alleged unfounded attacks on Indian institutions, apparent partisan attacks on the judiciary and critiquing apparent unfounded claims of election denialism.
THE FIGHTERS –
The election is primarily clash between two large coalitions, and their leading parties. On one side, you have the incumbent government of the BJP-led NDA, or National Democratic Alliance, and on the other, you have the opposition INC-led I.N.D.I.A, or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a new mega coalition of more than 35 parties, with a few unofficial supporters too.
The following is a list of some key players in each of the alliances and is by no means a comprehensive or exhaustive list of all involved factions.
The incumbent NDA includes:

1. BJP – The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party - "Indian People's Party") is a Hindu nationalist party committed to Hindutva ideology, promoting Hindu culture, opposing Muslim immigration, and creating a nativist country wherein India embraces a fundamentally Hindu social fabric. The BJP government under Modi undertook strong reformist policies in promoting liberalization of the economy through aggressive regulatory reforms, furthering free trade through FTAs and privatization of underperforming state assets. They took aggressive stances on defense and counterterrorism against Pakistan and China, while pragmatically engaging other nations despite criticism on some foreign policy moves for being 'wolf warrior-esque'. They uphold a strong nationalist domestic and foreign policy, that simultaneously does not retreat from globalization. On National Security, they aim to make India a regional power with a strong emphasis on modernization & indigenization of military administration and technology, while also reducing bureaucratic and manpower burdens through varied recruitment windows. BJP manifesto
2. JD(U) - The JD(U) (Janata Dal (United) – “People’s Party (United)”) is led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and has been in power in the eastern state of Bihar since 2005. It was formed after a series of splits and mergers in the Janata Dal in the 90s. It is credited with doing good work in the state on roads, electricity, and water, however it has failed to provide jobs & spur manufacturing. This, combined with its leader frequently switching between rival alliances, is causing anti-incumbency. The JD(U) left NDA in 2013 due to Narendra Modi's candidature. Then it joined the RJD in 2015 and formed the govt the same year. Then it parted with RJD in 2017 (supposedly due to corruption allegations) and went back to the NDA. NDA went on to win state elections in 2020. In 2022, it parted with NDA again and allied with the RJD, then in 2024, it once again parted with the RJD and joined the NDA. JDU website
3. TDP - The TDP (Telugu Desam Party – “Party of the Telugu Land") follows a pro-Telugu ideology. It was founded as an alternative to the Congress hegemony, by emphasizing Telugu regional pride and serving as the party for farmers, backward castes and middle-class people. Since the 1990s, it has followed an economically liberal policy that has been seen as pro-business and pro-development as well as populist welfarist measures. TDP Manifesto

The opposition I.N.D.I.A includes:

1. INC - The INC (Indian National Congress) is a big tent social-democratic/democratic-socialist party with its foundational pillars being equity, equality, and egalitarianism. They take broad commitments to secularism and class equality to be principal positions. The INC under Rahul Gandhi has taken strong positions on caste issues, shining light on inequities from past and current discrimination, and proposing active policy interventions. While the INC also holds a free-market/pro-liberalization consensus, they emphasise growing social and wealth inequality and seek inclusive and redistributive growth with strong state intervention. They also see some proposed liberalising reforms to further inequality and take an 'anti-corporatist' position. They take a slightly less strong position to Indian foreign policy, stressing a more diplomatic approach (with minimal variance on actual positions to the incumbents). They embrace globalisation in part, while emphasising India's need for domestic development. They aim to industrialise India rapidly through stimulating private investment and aim to subsidise both supply and demand. They seek to maintain the Indian military with a focus on highly trained soldiers. They pioneered multi-alignment as the foreign policy for India. INC Manifesto
2. AAP - The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party – “Common Man's Party"), part of INDIA coalition, currently holds power in two key states - Delhi and Punjab. Its chief figurehead and leader, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under an alleged liquor scam in the run up to elections. Barely a 10 year old party it has expanded very quickly to many states, running two of them, and now has national party status by the Election Commission of India (ECI). It leans centre-left to centre-right, with some play of soft Hindutva, while its economic platform comprises heavy spending in education, health, and free schemes of water and electricity. They rose to power on an anti-corruption program in 2013 and continues to have it as its central plank. AAP website for 2024
3. CPI(M) – The CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)). They commies lol. The CPI(M) is one of the larger and more mainstream communist parties in India. Since they operate within the Indian republic's constitution they have adopted more Indian characteristics. They are primarily against privatisation in the public sector and in favour of universal education and healthcare. Their base has traditionally been in Kerala, one of the more developed states in India in terms of income levels and HCI. they're in favour of private sector reservations and in recent years have also been pro-FDI. They promise non-aligned foreign policy, but largely are very anti-US and pro-China. They promise to restore Article 370 and oppose forceful seizure of land by the government. They're one of the most influential parties in India due to a strong cadre and student union ecosystem. They've had an effect on the farmers' protests as well as economic positions of the INDI Alliance. CPI(M) MANIFESTO
4. DMK - The DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - “Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a big tent broad left-wing party that is foundationally Dravidian (primarily Tamil) Nationalist, with strong emphasis on social equity and caste issues, while being staunchly secular and atheistic, and interventionist, statist, heavily welfarist, and industrialist in economic policy. They are primarily a regional party operating in the state of Tamil Nadu, led by M.K. Stalin, the state's current Chief Minister. DMK manifesto
5. RJD - The RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal – “National People’s Party”) is a caste-based (Muslims & Yadavs) political party in the Indian state of Bihar, which it ruled from 1990 to 2005. Its rule was one of extreme lawlessness & anarchy. It was called the “Jungle Raj”. Between 1990 & 2000, Bihar's per capita income and power consumption fell off a cliff due to mismanagement. Its CM, Lalu Prasad, was convicted of corruption in 2013.
6. SP - The SP (Samajwadi Party – “Socialist Party”) believes in creating a socialist society that operates on the principle of equality. Although the party previously ran on an anti-computer, anti-English, and anti-machinery platform, under its new national president Akhilesh Yadav, the party has made a 180° turn. Now, the Samajwadi Party declares itself to be the party of infrastructure while maintaining its commitment to social justice, with a special focus on teaching computer skills. The party's main base is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populated state in India, with a population of 230 million. The only negatives associated with the party are the rampant dynasticism within its ranks and its perceived soft stance on law and order issues. SP Manifesto
7. JMM - The JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha – “Jharkhand Liberation Front") currently runs the government of eastern state of Jharkhand. The party has historically centred tribal rights as its central plank and agitated for a new tribal state separate from Bihar until 2000, when their demands were met. It leans centre-left to left with their key issues being tribal control of land, mineral and mining rights, addressing issues of rehabilitation of tribals. The party is primarily run by the Soren family, with Champai Soren being its chief minister candidate in the current government after the last chief minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the enforcement directorate. JMM is in alliance with the Indian national congress in the state, and part of the INDIA coalition for the Lok Sabha elections. They face charges of corruption and the image of dynastic politics.

The “It’s Complicated”, Unaligned, Split, and/or other Supplementary Parties include:

1. TMC - The TMC or AITC (All India Trinamool Congress, Trinamool means Grassroots) is a Bengali political party ruling over the state of West Bengal since 2011. It is led by Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. It is a centre-left, welfarist, Bengali Nationalist party. It has been criticised for using heavy-handed authoritarian tactics against opposition leaders in the state, corruption, and political violence. It is credited with ending 34 years of communist rule in the state. West Bengal under the AITC has registered subpar economic performance and is largely stagnant. Pertinent to note Mamata used to be Congress leader till 1998, and AITC, in spite of being sympathetic towards the I.N.D.I.A. alliance at the national level, is fighting the Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal on all 42 seats. TMC Manifesto
2. AIADMK - The AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – “All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a broad centre-left/left-wing party adhering to foundational Dravidian philosophy, while emphasising Tamil identity. Traditionally being less ethno-nationalist than their sister opposition party the DMK, they adhere to broad welfarist left-wing populism, focusing on social justice and communal equity, while being less economically statist than the DMK. They also focus primarily on Tamil Nadu as a regional party, currently led by Edappadi Palaniswami. AIADMK manifesto
3. Shiv Sena - The Shiv Sena (“Army of Shivaji”) was founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966 as a populist, xenophobic party, although the party gradually added Hindutva ideology to its anti non-Maharashtrian plank. It was the long time senior partner to the BJP in Maharashtra till Narendra Modi's popularity caused a change in the dynamics. After power sharing talks with the BJP failed in 2019, the Shiv Sena switched alliances to join hands with their long time rivals in Congress and NCP in an arrangement that made Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In 2022 again, The Majority of Shiv Sena politicians led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against the top leadership to ally again with the BJP, taking control of the party and toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government. The splinter group led by Uddhav Thackeray is called SS (UBT) and it is allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance. SS(UBT) Manifesto
4. NCP – The NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) was founded in 1998 by Sharad Pawar and a few others who left the Congress in 1998 after Sonia Gandhi was made Congress president. Despite its formation, the NCP was a long term ally of the Congress sharing virtually the same ideology. In 2023 however, like the Shiv Sena, In a rebellion led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit, a Majority of NCP politicians switched alliances to support the BJP and took control of the party. Like the Shiv Sena, the Splinter group led by Sharad Pawar and his daughter is called NCP (SP) and it's allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance
5. YSRCP - The YSRCP (Yuvjana Sramika Rythu Congress Party – “Youth, Labour, & Farmer Congress Party”) was founded by the son of an old congress Chief Minister after he was denied the role of Chief Minister after his father. It's a populist centre-of-left party with strong focus on welfare schemes and cash benefits. It's mired in controversy due to its dynastic nature, its ties to Christian Fundamentalism and American Missionaries targeting the marginalised.
6. BRS - The BRS (Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi – “Indian National Council”) was formed originally with a single-point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. They are largely neoliberal and are credited with rapid economic growth in Telangana.
7. BJD – The BJD (Biju Janata Dal – “Biju’s People’ Platform”) was formed by Naveen Pattnaik the son of the former CM of Odisha, Biju Pattnaik. It’s a Odia regional party with a strong focus on poverty upliftment through welfare policies and equitable economic growth.
8. BSP - The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party - "Majority Community Party") is a centre-left party in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which was started to uplift Dalits and other marginalised communities in India by Kanshi Ram. Its current party president is Mayawati. BSP is considered as one of the biggest parties in India as per vote share, although it's currently in decline. At its height, this party had a strong base in many states across north India, but now it's only limited to the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the largest states in India with a population of 230 million. There are strong suspicions of BSP working in secret with BJP, and maybe that's why the party is not fighting this election enthusiastically. Although they can still make the competition interesting on a few seats in UP.

OTHER KEY ISSUES -
1. Political Dynasticism:
Although dynastism is thought to be a good fix for internal chaos in a party, the current political leader of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is a fourth-generation dynast who has to carry the political baggage of everything which went wrong during the rule of his grandmother and great-grandfather.
Also because one family has been controlling the Congress for decades, it has caused various state-level leaders to either form their own party or join another one. They see no future in the Congress anymore because the door to leadership is always closed for them. This has destroyed the ground level cadre of Congress party in many key states.
Rahul Gandhi’s privilege combined with the lack of any real political acumen so far has led to the INC taking damage due to his infamy.
Nepotism and dynastic politics has been a key issue throughout the last 10 years as BJP positions itself as the ‘common man’s party’
2. The Ram Mandir:
A land dispute originating from the alleged destruction of a Hindu Temple, replaced by a Mosque built allegedly atop the site (the Babri Masjid) in the 16th century allegedly by Mughal Emperor Babur in present day Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, the proposed birthplace of the Hindu deity Lord Ram.
Following a century of sporadic conflict, from 1853 to 1949, a revivalist movement in the 1980's would lead to rising communal tensions, culminating in the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu Nationalists and devotees.
The legal conflict over the land would continue until 2019, when the Supreme Court of India issued the controversial ruling that the land be handed over to government trust for the construction of the Babri, with separate land being allotted to the local Muslim community for construction of a Mosque.
Almost all elements of the dispute remain mired in controversy. From the historical and religious associations of Ayodhya with Ram, the existence of a definitively Hindu structure, the alleged deliberate destruction of the said temple, the times and events of construction and use, the participants, planning, and events of the 1992 destruction, the ASI Archeological Surveys that served as key evidence for the Supreme Court being tampered and politicized by both sides of the political aisle, the legality of the ruling itself, and other surrounding issues regarding justice against those alleged to have partaken in the destruction of the Babri Masjid.
3. Foreign Policy:
The BJP is campaigning on building a multi-aligned foreign policy where India is seen as the world’s friend as well as an upcoming regional power. This was at its peak during India’s G20 presidency. Many Indians claim the rise of India’s global stature is an electoral issue. This can be seen in the popularity of the government’s anti-terror operations in both Pakistan and beyond. The resurgence of an interventionist foreign policy has proven to be popular in projecting the strongman image of Modi. The country’s commitment to its strategic autonomy and multi-alignment have been a fixture right since Nehru.
SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES:
Election Rewind: Tracking Major Developments
Supreme Court Judgement on Ram Janmabhoomi Case
Timeline: Key Events in the Babri Masjid - Ram Mandir Controversy
Exclusive Interview With KK Muhammed, Archaeologist Part Of Babri Mosque Excavation Team
India's Lok Sabha Election 2024: What are Key Issues?
Education, Aspiration & 3 De-Hyphenations: A Changing Kashmir Votes and Vents
Abki Baar 90 Paar for Congress: Why Even 30 More Seats Will Ruffle BJP
This BJP Govt is Easy to Understand if You Read What Modi, Shah, Nadda Read When They Were Young
Caste Census Politics: What Bihar Thinks Today, Bihar Used to Think Day Before Yesterday
Parties Without Ideology Are Endangered in the BJP Era. Even Congress Needs a Modernised Doctrine
Article 370 to G20: India is in a Kashmir Sweet Spot. Now Tick the Last Boxes
At 43, How Brand BJP Evolved from Vajpayee Vision to Modi Might
Terrorist, Traitor, Namak Haram: Why BJP is Befriending TDP's Naidu Even After Insults to Modi
Himanta Sarma is Reading RSS Modi Politics Wrong. Hardliner Image Won't Help Beyond a Point
Three-Gen Corporate Rule in Indian Politics: How Dynasts Conform, How They Can Break Free
Seven Things Rahul Gandhi Can Do for Congress Revival, But He Won't
PM Modi is Moving on from Vajpayee-Era Mass Leaders: New India, New Parliament, New BJP
4 Years On, Kashmir is Changing. All Because of Modi-Picked Manoj Sinha’s Healing Touch
How Modi’s Independence Day Address at Red Fort in 2023 is Very Different from 2014
Congress Attacks on Ambani, Adani Won’t Fly. Nature of Wealth Has Changed Since Indira Days
It’s a New Rahul Gandhi. A Caste Warrior and Class Samurai

Hi! Quick question about my USC husband's income. So my husband is filing a petition for me & we're required to submit an I-864. For 2023 and 2022, he made money over the poverty guideline for two people in the household but in 2021, he made way below the poverty level. My question is that.. are we required to have a joint sponsor because of this? or could we just exclude the year 2021?
Thank you so much!!

Suprabhat, Vannakam, Adab and Welcome to the 2024 LOK SABHA GENERAL ELECTION THUNDERDOME
NO RULES, NO LIMITS, ONLY CHAOS.
THE CAGE:-
India is a parliamentary democracy that follows the first-past-the-post voting system, similar to the standard Westminster System. The Lower House of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) consists of 543 seats representing 543 constituencies that send 1 Member of Parliament (MP) each. These 543 MP's then choose a prime minister via simple majority.
For each constituency, a political party gives a ticket to a single Candidate. The Candidate with at least a plurality of votes in a constituency represents that Constituency in parliament as a member of the party.
There are no party level primaries in India, the candidate for a constituency is decided by the party high command and only one person from a party can be on the ticket for a particular seat. You can contest multiple constituencies though from the same party as Narendra Modi (2014 BJP Candidate for both Varanasi and Vadodara) and Rahul Gandhi (2024 Congress Candidate for both Rae Bareili and Wayanad) have done. If no existing political party gives you a ticket, you can contest as an Independent Candidate or form your own party and contest as a member of your own party.
The government can be formed by the party or the alliance that has a simple majority of MP's. When no single political party has a majority of MP's, an alliance of various parties can be formed that contains the majority of MP's. This is called a post-poll alliance, where the parties contest elections separately but might come together after the elections in order to form the government or be part of the government. However there is also the pre-poll alliance where political parties join or form an alliance before the elections. In a pre poll alliance, the alliance party will strategically choose how many and which seats each alliance partner will contest to maximize their chance of winning
KEY NUMBERS

Majority	272
Supermajority	362
Total Seats	543

THE DATES :- 19th April, 26th April, 7th May, 13th May, 20th May, 25th May, 1st June
THE RESULTS :-
THE EXIT POLLS :-
On average, most exit polls gave the following results.
Exit polls are surveys conducted after people have voted, asking them who they voted for, to predict the likely result before the official count is completed.

SOURCE	NDA	INDI ALLIANCE	OTHERS
AXIS MY INDIA	361-401	131-166	8-10
TODAY'S CHANAKYA	385-415	96-118	27-45
CNX	371-401	109-139	28-38
CVOTER	353-383	152-182	4-12
ETG	358	132	53
POLL OF POLLS	379	136	28

THE FIGHTS -
Economy & Employment:
The incumbent BJP-led NDA government makes the positive case of economic growth and development under its decade long tenure. It points to strong rejuvenated GDP growth with relatively low inflation, rising wages, a growing middle class, stable macroeconomic positioning, strong spending, slashing of multidimensional poverty, a strong and well administered welfare state, expanded free trade, sharp reduction in regulation, increase in select manufacturing and industry, a revitalized finance sector, and a thriving service market.
The government points to the large-scale infrastructure development undertaken, expanding roadways, delivering expansive electrification, and provisions of basic utility services. They point to the stagnation and policy paralysis observed under the tenure of the last Congress government (UPA 2), and further make point to the opposition's alleged proposed populist economic programs as untenable and unfeasible. They make the case that the opposition has leftist economic policies that are not grounded in economic reality.
The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, makes the negative case against the incumbents, pointing to large scale youth unemployment, even among educated youth. They point to an alleged inability of the government to tie growth to employment. They allege a failure of manufacturing capacity and sufficient industrialization of the economy, highlighting the lack of sufficient private capital inflows. They criticize the growth figures of the economy by casting doubt on the government's statistics, and focusing extensively on growing wealth inequality, alleging that growth only occurs for the rich billionaire class, with minimal relief for the poor, targeting specific attacks against domestic industrial magnates, Adani and Ambani. They allege favoritism on the part of the incumbent government towards their select base, highlighting the state of Gujarat as being prioritized over other states.
In making their positive case, they propose a more inclusive and redistributive model of growth, proposing heightened subsidization programmes, more welfare and support programmes, higher taxation on the wealthy and corporations, leveraging private capital inflows for infrastructure development, and prioritizing equitable growth through a caste census, developing corrective policies for inequalities between castes.
They aim to solve the employment crisis through expanding roles in state enterprises and filling government vacancies, alongside expanding labour intensive industries like manufacturing and mining, whilst pointing to high growth rates of the economy as well as committing to expand manufacturing through reforms and subsidy platforms like the PLI, FAME etc., further claiming that increased infrastructure spending will lead to crowding in effect thus enabling faster industrialization.
Social Justice:
The issues of social equity and justice have become major cornerstones of both the incumbent and opposition electoral platforms. This is most prevalent through the forthcoming section on sectarianism, but also focuses on key issues regarding class equality and - most importantly - caste-based discrimination.
The incumbent BJP-led NDA government point to their solid track record of universal poverty alleviation, targeted successful welfare and affirmative action programmes. The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, point to growing wealth inequality and apparent institutional and systemic discrimination against underprivileged caste communities in academia, employment, governmental programmes, courts, the military, etc. They allege that the government has not committed to taking resolute and definitive action against casteism through corrective policy.
This all boils down to the Reservation system, a large scale, affirmative action initiative, conducted through a systematic quota-based policy of allotment of institutional positions in education, governmental employment, schemes and programmes, direct political representation, etc.
With reservations estimated to have hit 59.5% of Central Government Institutional positions, there are now broader calls to expand the scale and scope of this drive. The opposition wanting to break the cap limits and even introduce this system into the private sector to potentially induce parity, while the government commits to more modest hikes of upto 62.5% while playing into incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's identity as a member of an underprivileged caste community.
While the opposition campaigns on removing limits to the quota system to deliver equity, the government alleges these commitments to be populist and detrimental, while alleging that the opposition seeks to potentially appease its Muslim voter base by introducing expanded reservations for Muslims, thereby allegedly sabotaging the disadvantaged Hindu lower castes, and redistributing their wealth to Muslims, in a bid to gain their votes.
Communalism:
Both the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and the INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition have framed communalism as a lynchpin issue of the Election. The incumbent government points to alleged casteist and bigoted rhetoric against select caste groups and Hindus. They allege the opposition panders to minorities for their votes, whilst not delivering on the real issues. They allege the opposition seeks to drive up divisiveness and shared social harmony in India. They further allege that the opposition engages in divisive rhetoric on key issues of Hindu-Indian culture like that of the Ram Temple, in ways that contradict the spirit of the Indian State.
The opposition on the other hand, accused the incumbent government of being bigoted against minority communities, from the large Muslim community to the lower caste communities of Indian society. They allege use of hateful and divisive rhetoric against these communities and point to select controversial government positions and policies on issues like the Ram Mandir, the controversial CAA-NRC laws, the proposed Uniform Civil Code, among others. They further allege institutional degradation of key offices including policing, academia, and the military in discriminating against minority groups.
Institutional Independence:
The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition alleges institutional degradation and capture of various independent governmental entities by the incumbents. They point to the use of Executive, Investigative, Anti-Corruption, Enforcement, & Tax authorities against opposition figures and media as evidence, highlighting specific cases of the detaining and arrest of two sitting opposition Chief Ministers, and the resignation of one. They highlight alleged selective targeting of opposition figures for raids, charges, and arrests, creating an alleged environment of impunity for the government. The opposition alleges heightened and blatant partisanship of members of the Judiciary in support of the incumbent government. They also allege illegitimate freezing of campaigning funds, crackdowns on press freedoms via capture of media institutions, and also critically alleges institutional capture of the Election Commission, casting doubts on election results primarily critiquing India's Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
The Government rebukes these claims as part of a strong anti-corruption drive, highlighting a drop in governmental corruption cases since the previous Congress government (UPA 2, infamously riddled with such allegations). The government frames the opposition parties as corrupt and power-hungry, while further disparaging the opposition's alleged unfounded attacks on Indian institutions, apparent partisan attacks on the judiciary and critiquing apparent unfounded claims of election denialism.
THE FIGHTERS –
The election is primarily clash between two large coalitions, and their leading parties. On one side, you have the incumbent government of the BJP-led NDA, or National Democratic Alliance, and on the other, you have the opposition INC-led I.N.D.I.A, or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a new mega coalition of more than 35 parties, with a few unofficial supporters too.
The following is a list of some key players in each of the alliances and is by no means a comprehensive or exhaustive list of all involved factions.
The incumbent NDA includes:

1. BJP – The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party - "Indian People's Party") is a Hindu nationalist party committed to Hindutva ideology, promoting Hindu culture, opposing Muslim immigration, and creating a nativist country wherein India embraces a fundamentally Hindu social fabric. The BJP government under Modi undertook strong reformist policies in promoting liberalization of the economy through aggressive regulatory reforms, furthering free trade through FTAs and privatization of underperforming state assets. They took aggressive stances on defense and counterterrorism against Pakistan and China, while pragmatically engaging other nations despite criticism on some foreign policy moves for being 'wolf warrior-esque'. They uphold a strong nationalist domestic and foreign policy, that simultaneously does not retreat from globalization. On National Security, they aim to make India a regional power with a strong emphasis on modernization & indigenization of military administration and technology, while also reducing bureaucratic and manpower burdens through varied recruitment windows. BJP manifesto
2. JD(U) - The JD(U) (Janata Dal (United) – “People’s Party (United)”) is led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and has been in power in the eastern state of Bihar since 2005. It was formed after a series of splits and mergers in the Janata Dal in the 90s. It is credited with doing good work in the state on roads, electricity, and water, however it has failed to provide jobs & spur manufacturing. This, combined with its leader frequently switching between rival alliances, is causing anti-incumbency. The JD(U) left NDA in 2013 due to Narendra Modi's candidature. Then it joined the RJD in 2015 and formed the govt the same year. Then it parted with RJD in 2017 (supposedly due to corruption allegations) and went back to the NDA. NDA went on to win state elections in 2020. In 2022, it parted with NDA again and allied with the RJD, then in 2024, it once again parted with the RJD and joined the NDA. JDU website
3. TDP - The TDP (Telugu Desam Party – “Party of the Telugu Land") follows a pro-Telugu ideology. It was founded as an alternative to the Congress hegemony, by emphasizing Telugu regional pride and serving as the party for farmers, backward castes and middle-class people. Since the 1990s, it has followed an economically liberal policy that has been seen as pro-business and pro-development as well as populist welfarist measures. TDP Manifesto

The opposition I.N.D.I.A includes:

1. INC - The INC (Indian National Congress) is a big tent social-democratic/democratic-socialist party with its foundational pillars being equity, equality, and egalitarianism. They take broad commitments to secularism and class equality to be principal positions. The INC under Rahul Gandhi has taken strong positions on caste issues, shining light on inequities from past and current discrimination, and proposing active policy interventions. While the INC also holds a free-market/pro-liberalization consensus, they emphasise growing social and wealth inequality and seek inclusive and redistributive growth with strong state intervention. They also see some proposed liberalising reforms to further inequality and take an 'anti-corporatist' position. They take a slightly less strong position to Indian foreign policy, stressing a more diplomatic approach (with minimal variance on actual positions to the incumbents). They embrace globalisation in part, while emphasising India's need for domestic development. They aim to industrialise India rapidly through stimulating private investment and aim to subsidise both supply and demand. They seek to maintain the Indian military with a focus on highly trained soldiers. They pioneered multi-alignment as the foreign policy for India. INC Manifesto
2. AAP - The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party – “Common Man's Party"), part of INDIA coalition, currently holds power in two key states - Delhi and Punjab. Its chief figurehead and leader, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under an alleged liquor scam in the run up to elections. Barely a 10 year old party it has expanded very quickly to many states, running two of them, and now has national party status by the Election Commission of India (ECI). It leans centre-left to centre-right, with some play of soft Hindutva, while its economic platform comprises heavy spending in education, health, and free schemes of water and electricity. They rose to power on an anti-corruption program in 2013 and continues to have it as its central plank. AAP website for 2024
3. CPI(M) – The CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)). They commies lol. The CPI(M) is one of the larger and more mainstream communist parties in India. Since they operate within the Indian republic's constitution they have adopted more Indian characteristics. They are primarily against privatisation in the public sector and in favour of universal education and healthcare. Their base has traditionally been in Kerala, one of the more developed states in India in terms of income levels and HCI. they're in favour of private sector reservations and in recent years have also been pro-FDI. They promise non-aligned foreign policy, but largely are very anti-US and pro-China. They promise to restore Article 370 and oppose forceful seizure of land by the government. They're one of the most influential parties in India due to a strong cadre and student union ecosystem. They've had an effect on the farmers' protests as well as economic positions of the INDI Alliance. CPI(M) MANIFESTO
4. DMK - The DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - “Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a big tent broad left-wing party that is foundationally Dravidian (primarily Tamil) Nationalist, with strong emphasis on social equity and caste issues, while being staunchly secular and atheistic, and interventionist, statist, heavily welfarist, and industrialist in economic policy. They are primarily a regional party operating in the state of Tamil Nadu, led by M.K. Stalin, the state's current Chief Minister. DMK manifesto
5. RJD - The RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal – “National People’s Party”) is a caste-based (Muslims & Yadavs) political party in the Indian state of Bihar, which it ruled from 1990 to 2005. Its rule was one of extreme lawlessness & anarchy. It was called the “Jungle Raj”. Between 1990 & 2000, Bihar's per capita income and power consumption fell off a cliff due to mismanagement. Its CM, Lalu Prasad, was convicted of corruption in 2013.
6. SP - The SP (Samajwadi Party – “Socialist Party”) believes in creating a socialist society that operates on the principle of equality. Although the party previously ran on an anti-computer, anti-English, and anti-machinery platform, under its new national president Akhilesh Yadav, the party has made a 180° turn. Now, the Samajwadi Party declares itself to be the party of infrastructure while maintaining its commitment to social justice, with a special focus on teaching computer skills. The party's main base is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populated state in India, with a population of 230 million. The only negatives associated with the party are the rampant dynasticism within its ranks and its perceived soft stance on law and order issues. SP Manifesto
7. JMM - The JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha – “Jharkhand Liberation Front") currently runs the government of eastern state of Jharkhand. The party has historically centred tribal rights as its central plank and agitated for a new tribal state separate from Bihar until 2000, when their demands were met. It leans centre-left to left with their key issues being tribal control of land, mineral and mining rights, addressing issues of rehabilitation of tribals. The party is primarily run by the Soren family, with Champai Soren being its chief minister candidate in the current government after the last chief minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the enforcement directorate. JMM is in alliance with the Indian national congress in the state, and part of the INDIA coalition for the Lok Sabha elections. They face charges of corruption and the image of dynastic politics.

The “It’s Complicated”, Unaligned, Split, and/or other Supplementary Parties include:

1. TMC - The TMC or AITC (All India Trinamool Congress, Trinamool means Grassroots) is a Bengali political party ruling over the state of West Bengal since 2011. It is led by Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. It is a centre-left, welfarist, Bengali Nationalist party. It has been criticised for using heavy-handed authoritarian tactics against opposition leaders in the state, corruption, and political violence. It is credited with ending 34 years of communist rule in the state. West Bengal under the AITC has registered subpar economic performance and is largely stagnant. Pertinent to note Mamata used to be Congress leader till 1998, and AITC, in spite of being sympathetic towards the I.N.D.I.A. alliance at the national level, is fighting the Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal on all 42 seats. TMC Manifesto
2. AIADMK - The AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – “All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a broad centre-left/left-wing party adhering to foundational Dravidian philosophy, while emphasising Tamil identity. Traditionally being less ethno-nationalist than their sister opposition party the DMK, they adhere to broad welfarist left-wing populism, focusing on social justice and communal equity, while being less economically statist than the DMK. They also focus primarily on Tamil Nadu as a regional party, currently led by Edappadi Palaniswami. AIADMK manifesto
3. Shiv Sena - The Shiv Sena (“Army of Shivaji”) was founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966 as a populist, xenophobic party, although the party gradually added Hindutva ideology to its anti non-Maharashtrian plank. It was the long time senior partner to the BJP in Maharashtra till Narendra Modi's popularity caused a change in the dynamics. After power sharing talks with the BJP failed in 2019, the Shiv Sena switched alliances to join hands with their long time rivals in Congress and NCP in an arrangement that made Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In 2022 again, The Majority of Shiv Sena politicians led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against the top leadership to ally again with the BJP, taking control of the party and toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government. The splinter group led by Uddhav Thackeray is called SS (UBT) and it is allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance. SS(UBT) Manifesto
4. NCP – The NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) was founded in 1998 by Sharad Pawar and a few others who left the Congress in 1998 after Sonia Gandhi was made Congress president. Despite its formation, the NCP was a long term ally of the Congress sharing virtually the same ideology. In 2023 however, like the Shiv Sena, In a rebellion led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit, a Majority of NCP politicians switched alliances to support the BJP and took control of the party. Like the Shiv Sena, the Splinter group led by Sharad Pawar and his daughter is called NCP (SP) and it's allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance
5. YSRCP - The YSRCP (Yuvjana Sramika Rythu Congress Party – “Youth, Labour, & Farmer Congress Party”) was founded by the son of an old congress Chief Minister after he was denied the role of Chief Minister after his father. It's a populist centre-of-left party with strong focus on welfare schemes and cash benefits. It's mired in controversy due to its dynastic nature, its ties to Christian Fundamentalism and American Missionaries targeting the marginalised.
6. BRS - The BRS (Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi – “Indian National Council”) was formed originally with a single-point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. They are largely neoliberal and are credited with rapid economic growth in Telangana.
7. BJD – The BJD (Biju Janata Dal – “Biju’s People’ Platform”) was formed by Naveen Pattnaik the son of the former CM of Odisha, Biju Pattnaik. It’s a Odia regional party with a strong focus on poverty upliftment through welfare policies and equitable economic growth.
8. BSP - The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party - "Majority Community Party") is a centre-left party in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which was started to uplift Dalits and other marginalised communities in India by Kanshi Ram. Its current party president is Mayawati. BSP is considered as one of the biggest parties in India as per vote share, although it's currently in decline. At its height, this party had a strong base in many states across north India, but now it's only limited to the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the largest states in India with a population of 230 million. There are strong suspicions of BSP working in secret with BJP, and maybe that's why the party is not fighting this election enthusiastically. Although they can still make the competition interesting on a few seats in UP.

OTHER KEY ISSUES -
1. Political Dynasticism:
Although dynastism is thought to be a good fix for internal chaos in a party, the current political leader of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is a fourth-generation dynast who has to carry the political baggage of everything which went wrong during the rule of his grandmother and great-grandfather.
Also because one family has been controlling the Congress for decades, it has caused various state-level leaders to either form their own party or join another one. They see no future in the Congress anymore because the door to leadership is always closed for them. This has destroyed the ground level cadre of Congress party in many key states.
Rahul Gandhi’s privilege combined with the lack of any real political acumen so far has led to the INC taking damage due to his infamy.
Nepotism and dynastic politics has been a key issue throughout the last 10 years as BJP positions itself as the ‘common man’s party’
2. The Ram Mandir:
A land dispute originating from the alleged destruction of a Hindu Temple, replaced by a Mosque built allegedly atop the site (the Babri Masjid) in the 16th century allegedly by Mughal Emperor Babur in present day Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, the proposed birthplace of the Hindu deity Lord Ram.
Following a century of sporadic conflict, from 1853 to 1949, a revivalist movement in the 1980's would lead to rising communal tensions, culminating in the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu Nationalists and devotees.
The legal conflict over the land would continue until 2019, when the Supreme Court of India issued the controversial ruling that the land be handed over to government trust for the construction of the Babri, with separate land being allotted to the local Muslim community for construction of a Mosque.
Almost all elements of the dispute remain mired in controversy. From the historical and religious associations of Ayodhya with Ram, the existence of a definitively Hindu structure, the alleged deliberate destruction of the said temple, the times and events of construction and use, the participants, planning, and events of the 1992 destruction, the ASI Archeological Surveys that served as key evidence for the Supreme Court being tampered and politicized by both sides of the political aisle, the legality of the ruling itself, and other surrounding issues regarding justice against those alleged to have partaken in the destruction of the Babri Masjid.
3. Foreign Policy:
The BJP is campaigning on building a multi-aligned foreign policy where India is seen as the world’s friend as well as an upcoming regional power. This was at its peak during India’s G20 presidency. Many Indians claim the rise of India’s global stature is an electoral issue. This can be seen in the popularity of the government’s anti-terror operations in both Pakistan and beyond. The resurgence of an interventionist foreign policy has proven to be popular in projecting the strongman image of Modi. The country’s commitment to its strategic autonomy and multi-alignment have been a fixture right since Nehru.
SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES:
Election Rewind: Tracking Major Developments
Supreme Court Judgement on Ram Janmabhoomi Case
Timeline: Key Events in the Babri Masjid - Ram Mandir Controversy
Exclusive Interview With KK Muhammed, Archaeologist Part Of Babri Mosque Excavation Team
India's Lok Sabha Election 2024: What are Key Issues?
Education, Aspiration & 3 De-Hyphenations: A Changing Kashmir Votes and Vents
Abki Baar 90 Paar for Congress: Why Even 30 More Seats Will Ruffle BJP
This BJP Govt is Easy to Understand if You Read What Modi, Shah, Nadda Read When They Were Young
Caste Census Politics: What Bihar Thinks Today, Bihar Used to Think Day Before Yesterday
Parties Without Ideology Are Endangered in the BJP Era. Even Congress Needs a Modernised Doctrine
Article 370 to G20: India is in a Kashmir Sweet Spot. Now Tick the Last Boxes
At 43, How Brand BJP Evolved from Vajpayee Vision to Modi Might
Terrorist, Traitor, Namak Haram: Why BJP is Befriending TDP's Naidu Even After Insults to Modi
Himanta Sarma is Reading RSS Modi Politics Wrong. Hardliner Image Won't Help Beyond a Point
Three-Gen Corporate Rule in Indian Politics: How Dynasts Conform, How They Can Break Free
Seven Things Rahul Gandhi Can Do for Congress Revival, But He Won't
PM Modi is Moving on from Vajpayee-Era Mass Leaders: New India, New Parliament, New BJP
4 Years On, Kashmir is Changing. All Because of Modi-Picked Manoj Sinha’s Healing Touch
How Modi’s Independence Day Address at Red Fort in 2023 is Very Different from 2014
Congress Attacks on Ambani, Adani Won’t Fly. Nature of Wealth Has Changed Since Indira Days
It’s a New Rahul Gandhi. A Caste Warrior and Class Samurai

hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read this..i really need some help if anyone has information on this type of situation
sooo i just got approved for my I-129f (k1 visa) form and i need help with understanding the affidavit of support…uscis says your income must meet or exceed 100% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines & for a household of two the income requirements are $20,440 but i only made $19,445 in my recent taxes…can i use money in my savings account to make up for that $995? or is there anything i could do because i dont have a joint sponsor…

Vital Environmental Factors That Can Prevent Recovery From BPD:
If, as a result of childhood trauma, we have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or borderline personality disorder (BPD) our post-traumatic environment can have an extremely strong impact upon our chances of recovery. I list some particularly important factors below :
LACK OF SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS, FAMILY AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY / SOCIETY
If we are not provided with such support, but, instead, are shunned and ignored, it is highly likely that our feelings of worthlessness, vulnerability and isolation will be intensified.
Support needs to be non-judgmental, empathic and validating both of our emotional pain and also of our interpretation of how our adverse experiences have affected us.
Also, those providing the support need to be 'emotionally literate' (i.e. able and willing to discuss feelings and emotions in a compassionate and understanding manner)
NOT BEING BELIEVED
Obviously, if people we talk to about our traumatic experiences don't believe what we are saying or believe we are exaggerating the seriousness of what happened to us (or the seriousness of the effect it has had upon us) our psychological condition is likely to be severely aggravated: our lack of self-esteem, sense of despair, sense of worthlessness, sense of unlovability, feelings of isolation and any feelings of anger, bitterness and resentment we may have are all likely to be severely intensified.
SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION
We need to avoid those who would cause us secondary victimization. Secondary victimization occurs when those who ought to be helping us instead harm us further. Indeed, the example of not being believed (see above) is one such form of secondary victimization.
Other examples of secondary victimization include :

• having a doctor who minimizes/trivializes the seriousness of what has occurred to us and its effects
  
• being stigmatized by society for having developed a psychiatric condition
  
• being shunned and ostracized by friends/family due to our condition
  
• being made to feel ashamed in connection with what has happened to us and its effects
  
• having the vulnerable nature we have developed as a result of our mental condition exploited by an intimate partner (the risk of this is especially high as those who have suffered significant abuse in their early lives are frequently (on an unconscious level) driven to seek out intimate partners who are likely to abuse them further (this is sometimes referred to as a repetition compulsion).
  

On top of these problems, it can, too, be difficult to get professional support:
A recent study carried out by Proctor et al., 2020, has produced further evidence that BPD sufferers frequently find it highly problematic gaining access to effective treatment such as dialectical behaviour therapy, or DBT. (In relation to this problem, you may wish to read my previously published articles: How Malignant Alienation May Impoverish Care BPD Patients Receive.)
Whilst many professional used to believe BPD was typically unresponsive to treatment, this can no longer operate as a feasible excuse as there now exists an increasingly large and growing body of evidence that a substantial proportion of those who have been diagnosed with this extremely serious condition (which is closely linked to severe and protracted, interpersonal, childhood trauma) can be treated effectively, at least to the degree that they no longer fulfil the requisite criteria necessary for the diagnosis of BPD to continue to be applicable.
The authors of the study suggest that difficulty obtaining proper treatment is linked to the continued stigma attaching itself to a BPD diagnosis. However, as sufferers of the condition become increasingly knowledgeable about the illness and of the existence of evidence base therapies like DBT (see above), so too should their confidence assertively to request the opportunity to access such treatment. After all, about one in ten BPD sufferers eventually die by suicide, so the need for such individuals to be offered compassionate, non-judgmental, empathetic and non-discriminatory treatment can hardly be overstated. The treatment of extreme mental pain is just as much of an ethical imperative as is the treatment of extreme physical pain.
The Australian study surveyed 500 patients between 2011 and 2017 and found that those offered appropriate help often waited between a year and a year-and-a-half to receive it. The author of the study pointed out that this not only resulted in unnecessary suffering for the BPD sufferer but also placed extra strain on hospital emergency services (i.e. due to more BPD sufferers reaching crisis point, attempting suicide, self-medicating with dangerous levels of alcohol and/or narcotics, extreme self-harm such as self-cutting and self-burning etc.).
The researchers concluded by emphasizing the importance of health professionals applying NHMRC BPD guidelines in order to support front line services responsible for the welfare of BPD sufferers.

Just a little background. my spouse (the petitioner) makes enough money to meet the poverty guideline (it's roughly double the number in the guideline). I was also gonna include my income in part 5 item 8. So in part 6 item 20, the total of both our income is reflected (e.g. if he makes 50 and I make 90, the total says 140)
the question is when we are answering 24.a through 24.c, what should we write down under total income for each tax year? should I add up both of our income or just my spouse's? We just got married and have never filed jointly.

Draft 1
Suprabhat, Vannakam, Adab and Welcome to the 2024 LOK SABHA GENERAL ELECTION THUNDERDOME.

NO RULES, NO LIMITS, ONLY CHAOS

POKKS	NDA	INC	Other
Axis My India	361-401	131-166	8-10
CVOTER	353-383	152-182	4-12
Today's Chanakya	385-415	96-118	27-45
CNX	371-401	109-139	28-38
ETG	358	132	53
Poll of Polls	379	136	28

testlink

The Cage -

India is a parliamentary democracy that follows the first-past-the-post voting system, similar to the standard Westminster System. The Lower House of the Indian Parliament Lok Sabha consists of 543 seats representing 543 constituencies that send 1 Member of Parliament (MP) each. These 543 MP's then choose a prime minister via simple majority.
For each constituency, a political party gives a ticket to a single Candidate. The Candidate with at least a plurality of votes in a constituency represents that Constituency in parliament as a member of the party.
There are no party level primaries in India, the candidate for a constituency is decided by the party high command and only one person from a party can be on the ticket for a particular seat. You can contest multiple constituencies though from the same party as both Narendra Modi (2014 BJP Candidate for both *Varanasi* and *Vadodara*) and Rahul Gandhi (2024 Congress Candidate for both *Rae Bareili* and *Wayanad*) have done. If no existing political party gives you a ticket, you can contest as an Independent Candidate or form your own party and contest as a member of your own party.
The government can be formed by the party or the alliance that has a simple majority of MP's. When no single political party has a majority of MP's, an alliance of various parties can be formed that contains the majority of MP's. This is called a post-poll alliance, where the parties contest elections separately but might come together after the elections in order to form the government or be part of the government.However there is also the pre-poll alliance where political parties join or form an alliance before the elections.
**THE DATES -**
**THE RESULTS -**
**EXIT POLLS -**

THE FIGHTS -

Economy & Employment:

The incumbent BJP-led NDA government makes the positive case of economic growth and development under its decade long tenure. It points to strong rejuvenated GDP growth with relatively low inflation, rising wages, a growing middle class, stable macroeconomic positioning, strong spending, slashing of multidimensional poverty, a strong and well administered welfare state, expanded free trade, sharp reduction in regulation, increase in select manufacturing and industry, a revitalized finance sector, and a thriving service markThe government points to the large-scale infrastructure development undertaken, expanding roadways, delivering expansive electrification, and provisions of basic utility services. They point to the stagnation and policy paralysis observed under the tenure of the last Congress government (*UPA 2*), and further make point to the opposition's alleged proposed populist economic programs as untenable and unfeasible. They make the case that the opposition has leftist economic policies that are not grounded in economic reality.
The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, makes the negative case against the incumbents, pointing to large scale youth unemployment, even among educated youth. They point to an alleged inability of the government to tie growth to employment. They allege a failure of manufacturing capacity and sufficient industrialization of the economy, highlighting the lack of sufficient private capital inflows. They criticize the growth figures of the economy by casting doubt on the government's statistics, and focusing extensively on growing wealth inequality, alleging that growth only occurs for the rich billionaire class, with minimal relief for the poor, targeting specific attacks against domestic industrial magnates, Adani and Ambani. They allege favoritism on the part of the incumbent government towards their select base, highlighting the state of Gujarat as being prioritized over other stateset.
In making their positive case, they propose a more inclusive and redistributive model of growth, proposing heightened subsidization programmes, more welfare and support programmes, higher taxation on the wealthy and corporations, leveraging private capital inflows for infrastructure development, and prioritizing equitable growth through a caste census, developing corrective policies for inequalities between castes.
They aim to solve the employment crisis through expanding roles in state enterprises and filling government vacancies, alongside expanding labour intensive industries like manufacturing and mining, whilst pointing to high growth rates of the economy as well as committing to expand manufacturing through reforms and subsidy platforms like the PLI, FAME etc., further claiming that increased infrastructure spending will lead to crowding in effect thus enabling faster industrialization.

Social Justice:

The issues of social equity and justice have become major cornerstones of both the incumbent and opposition electoral platforms. This is most prevalent through the forthcoming section on sectarianism, but also focuses on key issues regarding class equality and - most importantly - caste-based discrimination.
The incumbent BJP-led NDA government point to their solid track record of universal poverty alleviation, targeted successful welfare and affirmative action programmes. The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition on the other hand, point to growing wealth inequality and apparent institutional and systemic discrimination against underprivileged caste communities in academia, employment, governmental programmes, courts, the military, etc. They allege that the government has not committed to taking resolute and definitive action against casteism through corrective policy.
This all boils down to the Reservation system, a large scale, affirmative action initiative, conducted through a systematic quota-based policy of allotment of institutional positions in education, governmental employment, schemes and programmes, direct political representation, etc.
With reservations estimated to have hit 59.5% of Central Government Institutional positions, there are now broader calls to expand the scale and scope of this drive. The opposition wanting to break the cap limits and even introduce this system into the private sector to potentially induce parity, while the government commits to more modest hikes of upto 62.5% while playing into incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's identity as a member of an underprivileged caste community.
While the opposition campaigns on removing limits to the quota system to deliver equity, the government alleges these commitments to be populist and detrimental, while alleging that the opposition seeks to potentially appease its Muslim voter base by introducing expanded reservations for Muslims, thereby allegedly sabotaging the disadvantaged Hindu lower castes, and redistributing their wealth to Muslims, in a bid to gain their votes.

Communalism:

Both the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and the INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition have framed communalism as a lynchpin issue of the Election. The incumbent government points to alleged casteist and bigoted rhetoric against select caste groups and Hindus. They allege the opposition panders to minorities for their votes, whilst not delivering on the real issues. They allege the opposition seeks to drive up divisiveness and shared social harmony in India. They further allege that the opposition engages in divisive rhetoric on key issues of Hindu-Indian culture like that of the *Ram Temple*, in ways that contradict the spirit of the Indian State.
The opposition on the other hand, accused the incumbent government of being bigoted against minority communities, from the large Muslim community, to the lower caste communities of Indian society. They allege use of hateful and divisive rhetoric against these communities, and point to select controversial government positions and policies on issues like the *Ram Mandir*, the controversial CAA-NRC laws, the proposed Uniform Civil Code, among others. They further allege institutional degradation of key offices including policing, academia, and the military in discriminating against minority groups.

Institutional Independence:

The INC-led I.N.D.I.A opposition alleges institutional degradation and capture of various independent governmental entities by the incumbents. They point to the use of Executive, Investigative, Anti-Corruption, Enforcement, & Tax authorities against opposition figures and media as evidence, highlighting specific cases of the detaining and arrest of two sitting opposition Chief Ministers, and the resignation of one. They highlight alleged selective targeting of opposition figures for raids, charges, and arrests, creating an alleged environment of impunity for the government. The opposition alleges heightened and blatant partisanship of members of the Judiciary in support of the incumbent government. They also allege illegitimate freezing of campaigning funds, crackdowns on press freedoms via capture of media institutions, and also critically alleges institutional capture of the Election Commission, casting doubts on election results primarily critiquing India's Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
The Government rebukes these claims as part of a strong anti-corruption drive, highlighting a drop in governmental corruption cases since the previous Congress government (UPA 2, infamously riddled with such allegations). The government frames the opposition parties as corrupt and power-hungry, while further disparaging the opposition's alleged unfounded attacks on Indian institutions, apparent partisan attacks on the judiciary and critiquing apparent unfounded claims of election denialism.

THE FIGHTERS –

The election is primarily clash between two large coalitions, and their leading parties. On one side, you have the incumbent government of the BJP-led NDA, or *National Democratic Alliance*, and on the other, you have the opposition INC-led I.N.D.I.A, or *Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance*, a new mega coalition of more than 35 parties, with a few unofficial supporters too.
*The following is a list of some key players in each of the alliances and is by no means a comprehensive or exhaustive list of all involved factions.*

The incumbent NDA includes:

1. ***BJP*** – The BJP (*Bharatiya Janata Party* - "Indian People's Party") is a Hindu nationalist party ce and counterterrorism against Pakistan and China, while pragmatically engaging other nations despite criticism on some foreign policy moves for being 'wolf warrior-esque'. They uphold a strong nationalist domestic and foreign policy, that simultaneously does not retreat from globalization. On National Security, they aim to make India a regional power with a strong emphasis on modernization & indigenization of military administration and technology, while also reducing bureaucratic and manpower burdens through varied recruitment windows.
   
2. ***JD(U)*** - The JD(U) (*Janata Dal (United)* – “People’s Party (United)”) is led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and has been in power in the eastern state of Bihar since 2005. It was formed after a series of splits and mergers in the Janata Dal in the 90s. It is credited with doing good work in the state on roads, electricity, and water, however it has failed to provide jobs & spur manufacturing. This, combined with its leader frequently switching between rival alliances, is causing anti-incumbency. The JD(U) left NDA in 2013 due to Narendra Modi's candidature. Then it joined the RJD in 2015 and formed the govt the same year. Then it parted with RJD in 2017 (supposedly due to corruption allegations) and went back to the NDA. NDA went on to win state elections in 2020. In 2022, it parted with NDA again and allied with the RJD, then in 2024, it once again parted with the RJD and joined the NDA.
   
3. ***TDP*** - The TDP (*Telugu Desam Party* – “Party of the Telugu Land") follows a pro-Telugu ideology. It was founded as an alternative to the Congress hegemony, by emphasizing Telugu regional pride and serving as the party for farmers, backward castes and middle-class people. Since the 1990s, it has followed an economically liberal policy that has been seen as pro-business and pro-development as well as populist welfare measures.
   

The opposition I.N.D.I.A includes:

1. ***INC*** - The INC (Indian National Congress) is a big tent social-democratic/democratic-socialist party with its foundational pillars being equity, equality, and egalitarianism. They take broad commitments to secularism and class equality to be principal positions. The INC under Rahul Gandhi has taken strong positions on caste issues, shining light on inequities from past and current discrimination, and proposing active policy interventions. While the INC also holds a free-market/pro-liberalization consensus, they emphasize growing social and wealth inequality and seek inclusive and redistributive growth with strong state intervention. They also see some proposed liberalizing reforms to further inequality and take an 'anti-corporatist' position. They take a slightly less strong position to Indian foreign policy, stressing a more diplomatic approach (with minimal variance on actual positions to the incumbents). They embrace globalization in part, while emphasizing India's need for domestic development. They aim to industrialize India rapidly through stimulating private investment and aim to subsidize both supply and demand. They seek to maintain the Indian military with a focus on highly trained soldiers. They pioneered multi-alignment as the foreign policy for India.
   
2. ***AAP*** - The AAP (*Aam Aadmi Party* – “Common Man's Party"), part of INDIA coalition, currently holds power in two key states - Delhi and Punjab. Its chief figurehead and leader, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under an alleged liquor scam in the run up to elections. Barely a 10 year old party it has expanded very quickly to many states, running two of them, and now has national party status by the Election Commission of India (ECI). It leans centre-left to centre-right, with some play of soft *Hindutva*, while its economic platform comprises heavy spending in education, health, and free schemes of water and electricity. They rose to power on an anti-corruption program in 2013 and continues to have it as its central plank.
   
3. ***CPI(M)*** – The CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)). They commies lol. The CPI(M) is one of the larger and more mainstrean communist parties in India. Since they operate within the Indian republic's constitution they have adopted more Indian characterisrics. They are primarily against privatisation in the public sector and in favour of universal education and healthcare. Their base has traditionally been in Kerala, one of the more developed states in India in terms of income levels and HCI. They're in favour of private sector reservations and in recent years have also been pro-FDI They promise non-aligned foreign policy, but largely are very anti-US and pro-China. They promise to restore Article 370 and oppose forceful seizure of land by government. They're one of the most influential parties in India due to a strong cadre and student union ecosystem. They've had an effect on the farmers protests as well as economic positions of the INDI Alliance.
   
4. ***DMK*** - The DMK (*Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam* - “Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a big tent broad left-wing party that is foundationally *Dravidian* (primarily Tamil) Nationalist, with strong emphasis on social equity and caste issues, while being staunchly secular and atheistic, and interventionist, statist, heavily welfarist, and industrialist in economic policy. They are primarily a regional party operating in the state of Tamil Nadu, led by M.K. Stalin, the state's current Chief Minister.
   
5. ***RJD*** - The RJD (*Rashtriya Janata Dal* – “National People’s Party”) is a caste-based (Muslims & Yadavs) political party in the Indian state of Bihar, which it ruled from 1990 to 2005. Its rule was one of extreme lawlessness & anarchy. It was called the “Jungle Raj”. Between 1990 & 2000, Bihar's per capita income and power consumption fell off a cliff due to mismanagement. Its CM, Lalu Prasad, was convicted of corruption in 2013.
   
6. ***SP*** - The SP (*Samajwadi Party* – “Socialist Party”) believes in creating a socialist society that operates on the principle of equality. Although the party previously ran on an anti-computer, anti-English, and anti-machinery platform, under its new national president Akhilesh Yadav, the party has made a 180° turn. Now, the Samajwadi Party declares itself to be the party of infrastructure while maintaining its commitment to social justice, with a special focus on teaching computer skills. The party's main base is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populated state in India, with a population of 230 million. The only negatives associated with the party are the rampant dynasticism within its ranks and its perceived soft stance on law and order issues.
   
7. ***JMM*** - The JMM (*Jharkhand Mukti Morcha* – “Jharkhand Liberation Front") currently runs the govt of eastern state of Jharkhand. The party has historically centred tribal rights as its central plank and agitated for a new tribal state separate from Bihar until 2000, when their demands were met. It leans centre-left to left with their key issues being tribal control of land, mineral and mining rights, addressing issues of rehabilitation of tribals. The party is primarily run by the Soren family, with Champai Soren being its chief minister candidate in the current government after the last chief minister Hemant Soren was arrested by enforcement directorate. JMM is in alliance with the Indian national congress in the state, and part of the INDIA coalition for the Lok Sabha elections. They face charges of corruption and the image of dynastic politics.
   

The “It’s Complicated”, Unaligned, Split, and/or other Supplementary Parties include:

1. ***TMC*** - The TMC or AITC (All India Trinamool Congress) is a Bengali political party ruling over the state of West Bengal since 2011. It is led by Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. It is a center-left, welfarist, Bengali Nationalist party. It has been criticized for using heavy-handed authoritarian tactics against opposition leaders in the state, corruption, and political violence. It is credited with ending 34 years of communist rule in the state. West Bengal under the AITC has registered subpar economic performance and is largely stagnant. Pertinent to note Mamata used to be Congress leader till 1998, and AITC, in spite of being sympathetic towards the I.N.D.I.A. alliance at the national level, is fighting the Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal on all 42 seats.
   
2. ***AIADMK*** - The AIADMK (*All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam* – “All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation") is a broad centre-left/left-wing party adhering to foundational Dravidian philosophy, while emphasizing Tamil identity. Traditionally being less ethno-nationalist than their sister opposition party the DMK, they adhere to broad welfarist left-wing populism, focusing on social justice and communal equity, while being less economically statist than the DMK. They also focus primarily on Tamil Nadu as a regional party, currently led by Edappadi Palaniswami.
   
3. ***Shiv Sena*** - The Shiv Sena (*“Army of Shivaji”*) was founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966 as a populist, xenophobic party, although the party gradually added Hindutva ideology to its anti non-Maharashtrian plank. It was the long time senior partner to the BJP in Maharashtra till Narendra Modi's popularity caused a change in the dynamics. After power sharing talks with the BJP failed in 2019, the Shiv Sena switched alliances to join hands with their long time rivals in Congress and NCP in an arrangement that made Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In 2022 again, The Majority of Shiv Sena politicians led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against the top leadership to ally again with the BJP, taking control of the party and toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government. The splinter group led by Uddhav Thackeray is called SS (UBT) and it is allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance.
   
4. NCP – The NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) were founded in 1998 by Sharad Pawar and a few others who left the Congress in 1998 after Sonia Gandhi was made Congress president. Despite it's formation, the NCP was a long term ally of the Congress sharing virtually the same ideology. In 2023 however, like the Shiv Sena, In a rebellion led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit, a Majority of NCP politicians switched alliances to support the BJP and took control of the party. Like the Shiv Sena, the Splinter group led by Sharad Pawar and his daughter is called NCP (SP) and it's allied with the Congress in the INDIA Alliance
   
5. YSRCP - The YSRCP (Yuvjana Sramika Rythu Congress Party – “Youth, Labour, & Farmer Congress Party”) was founded by the son of an old congress Chief Minister after he was denied the role of Chief Minister after his father. It's a populist centre-of-left party with strong focus on welfare schemes and cash benefits. It's mired in controversy due to its dynastic nature, its ties to Christian Fundamentalism and
   
6. BRS - The BRS (Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi – “Indian National Council”) was formed originally with a single-point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. They are largely neoliberal and are credited with rapid economic growth in Telangana.
   
7. BJD – The BJD (Biju Janata Dal – “Biju’s People’ Platform”) was formed by Naveen Pattnaik the son of the former CM of Oddisha, Biju Pattnaik. It’s a Odia regional party with a strong focus on poverty upliftment through welfare policies and equitable economic growth.
   
8. BSP - The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party - "Majority Community Party") is a center-left party in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which was started to uplift Dalits and other marginalized communities in India by Kanshi Ram. Its current party president is Mayawati. BSP is considered as one of the biggest parties in India as per vote share, although it's currently in decline. At its height, this party had a strong base in many states across north India, but now it's only limited to the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the largest states in India with a population of 230 million. There are strong suspicions of BSP working in secret with BJP, and maybe that's why the party is not fighting this election enthusiastically. Although they can still make the competition interesting on a few seats in UP.
   

OTHER KEY ISSUES -

1. Political Dynasticism:

Although dynastism is thought to be a good fix for internal chaos in a party, the current political leader of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is a fourth-generation dynast who has to carry the political baggage of everything which went wrong during the rule of his grandmother and great-grandfather.
Also because one family has been controlling the Congress for decades, it has caused various state-level leaders to either form their own party or join another one. They see no future in the Congress anymore because the door to leadership is always closed for them. This has destroyed the ground level cadre of Congress party in many key states.
Rahul Gandhi’s privilege combined with the lack of any real political acumen so far has led to the INC taking damage due to is infamy.
Nepotism and dynastic politics has been a key issue throughout the last 10 years as BJP positions itself as the ‘common man’s party’

2. The Ram Mandir:

A land dispute originating from the alleged destruction of a Hindu Temple, replaced by a Mosque built allegedly atop the site (the Babri Masjid) in the 16th century allegedly by Mughal Empror Babur in present day Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, the proposed birthplace of the Hindu deity Lord Ram.
Following a century of sporadic conflict, from 1853 to 1949, a revivalist movement in the 1980's would lead to rising communal tensions, culminating in the 1992 destruction of the Ram Temple by Hindu Nationalists and devotees.
The legal conflict over the land would continue until 2019, when the Supreme Court of India issued the controversial ruling that the land be handed over to government trust for the construction of a Ram Temple, with seperate land being allotted to the local Muslim community for construction of a Mosque.
Almost all elements of the dispute remain mired in controversy. From the historical and religious associations of Ayodhya with Ram, the existence of a definitively Hindu structure, the alleged deliberate destruction of the said temple, the times and events of construction and use, the participants, planning, and events of the 1992 destruction, the ASI Archeological Surveys that served as key evidence for the Supreme Court being tampered and politicised by both sides of the politcal aisle, the legality of the ruling itself, and other surrounding issues regarding justice against those alleged to have partaken in the destruction of the Babri Masjid.

3. Foreign Policy:

The BJP is campaigning on building a multi-aligned foreign policy where India is seen as the world’s friend as well as an upcoming regional power. This was at its peak during India’s G20 presidency. Many Indians claim the rise of India’s global stature is an electoral issue. This can be seen in the popularity of the government’s anti-terror operations in both Pakistan and beyond. The resurgence of an interventionist foreign policy has proven to be popular in projecting the strongman image of Modi. The country’s commitment to it’s strategic autonomy and multi-alignment have been a fixture right since Nehru.
SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES:-

side effects

"Our mental health crisis won’t be solved by pills alone. The number of people taking antidepressants has doubled since 2011, but the side effects of long-term use are broadly unknown." https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/05/our-mental-health-crisis-wont-be-solved-by-pills-alone
"Woman feels intense side effects with anti-seizure medications...Keppra...It made her feel loopy, tired and weak. Her doctor switched her to lacosamide twice a day. Side effects of this drug are similar. She’s had double vision and drowsiness, and she can no longer drive," https://www.thedailyreview.com/arts_and_living/woman-feels-intense-side-effects-with-anti-seizure-medications/article_e0596282-1edb-11ef-a94b-2b187723a155.html

talk therapy

"Why, for some, psychotherapy might be a better treatment for depression than drugs...antidepressants...He felt “dead inside”, https://theconversation.com/why-for-some-psychotherapy-might-be-a-better-treatment-for-depression-than-drugs-229255

least restrictive setting

"Improving patients’ rights to make choices in their treatment...when glucose metabolism fueling the brain is disrupted, the energy-starved brain may develop symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder." https://www.apa.org/monito2024/06/right-to-least-restrictive-treatment-setting

poverty is traumatic

"New York City Releases Its First Ever State of Mental Health Report...Adults who personally witnessed or experienced violence in their neighborhood, or who encountered rodents on their street, lacked heat in the most recent winter or recently saw mold in their home were more likely to experience serious psychological distress than adults who had not...45 percent of adults reporting drinking at least one alcoholic drink." https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2024/nyc-releases-first-ever-state-of-mental-health-report.page

autism

"Mental health assessment tools for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) largely lack evidence of reliability and validity, according to systematic review study findings published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders." https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/news/mental-health-assessment-tools-validity-for-autism/

mental discrimination

japan, "Hundreds of provisions that discriminate against people with mental disorders remain in local governments’ ordinances and other rules," https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/15262348

LGBTQI

"may be more likely to avoid going to the doctor for fear of discrimination." https://abcnews.go.com/Health/lgbtq-people-higher-risk-cancers-possibly-due-feastory?id=110704665

not able to diagnose whether alive

"Oregon State Hospital staff found he lacked a pulse after wheeling through the facility to his room." https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/05/30/a-young-mans-death-exposes-holes-in-oregons-mental-health-system/

conflict of interest

"Ohioans want to put an initiative on the ballot to amend the state's constitution to eliminate qualified immunity, prosecutorial immunity, sovereign immunity, and every other kind of immunity. But the Ohio AG (who would lose immunity) has refused to certify the proposed amendment six times, finding various reasons why the summary of the amendment isn't "fair and truthful." Fed up, the Ohioans sue. Sixth Circuit (over a dissent): And their motion for preliminary injunction is granted. The AG must certify the initiative so that its sponsors can begin collecting signatures." https://reason.com/volokh/2024/05/31/short-circuit-a-roundup-of-recent-federal-court-decisions-265/

religious defense

"In 1981 in an unemployment compensation case, the Supreme Court said that when considering accommodations for people of faith, religious beliefs do not need to be "acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others." https://reason.com/volokh/2024/05/31/short-circuit-a-roundup-of-recent-federal-court-decisions-265/

domestic violence

washington, "Initially appearing to be a involuntary commitment call, further investigation revealed the victim wanted to commit suicide due to abuse by his mother." https://www.kentreporter.com/news/kent-police-blotter-may-13-26/ I was only a little sad/bored, until dictator parents poisoned me.

hot

"Frequent sauna use and exercise might lower the risk of psychosis." https://bgr.com/science/frequent-sauna-use-and-exercise-might-lower-the-risk-of-psychosis/

lawsuits

ireland, "Settlements approved for boys allegedly inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic medication by Kerry CAMHS...€60,000 to a 10-year-old boy and a €16,000 award to a 17-year-old." https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/05/31/settlements-approved-for-boys-allegedly-inappropriately-prescribed-antipsychotic-medication-by-kerry-camhs/

violent nurses

"arrested Pablo Garcia, 64, of Hollywood, on a charge of abuse of a disabled adult without great bodily harm." https://www.local10.com/news/local/2024/05/31/nurse-at-broward-psychiatric-hospital-arrested-for-shoving-patient-to-floor-police-say/

religious police

texas, "HPD Sgt would go on to declare other resolutions in the name of Jesus Christ...he objects to getting taken to the hospital..."I don't want them to kill me in there." https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/hutchins-police-officer-declares-jesus-to-get-child-from-father-having-mental-health-crisis/

torture

nigeria, "Federal Gov’t To Extend Anti-torture Law To Psychiatric Hospitals, Others...United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT), Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and enacted the Anti-Torture Act." https://leadership.ng/federal-govt-to-extend-anti-torture-law-to-psychiatric-hospitals-others/

personal experiences

May 31 9:47 AM mother threatened sacred beard. cursed and said I would be "terrified." she's "going to have a mental breakdown."

Hey everybody,
I will start this off with saying that the primary goal for this post is to hear thoughts and opinions on suicide prevention, particularly in the context that I lay out below. I'm not trying to "prove" my stance or position on the matter, so please feel free to call out any parts you think I may just have a fundamental misunderstanding on. I'm here to learn and read a wide range of perspectives, not to defend any particular viewpoint!
EDIT: I'd just like to edit and say that I am in no way endorsing or advocating for acting outside of professional guidelines and/or best practice/evidence based practice. This ultimately is a question probing for opinions, of which both opinions based on personal morals and professional ethics are encouraged. I think it is imperative for us to continually challenge and question the status-quo of our profession so that we can constantly evolve and adapt to modern challenges and knowledge. At the end of the day, these discussions are to create a better environment for both client and professional.
I've recently been contemplating the philosophy and morality of suicide and our relationships with suicidal clients. I've been fortunate enough to read through many of the threads on here surrounding this difficult, emotional topic. Many times, the responsibility of CYA and reporting is brought up, but I've not heard the "why?" for the more broad topic of suicide and why we prevent it.
I want to clarify that I understand our job is not to keep the client alive- we are not omniscient. However, therapy itself seems to lean towards keeping a client alive rather than allowing full autonomy. Why do we force clients to stay alive? Involuntary committance is a true example of taking autonomy from a client. We constantly are educated on suicide prevention and safety contracts and assessments.
I'm lost as to why we see clients with debilitating mental illness and suffering any different from medical patients with progressively debilitating diseases or terminal illnesses.
I'm a firm believer that suicide is one of the purest existential actions one can take. Yet, my supervision and education seems to enforce a firm stance that suicide is always the wrong decision. I always hear the phrase- "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Sure, this may be the case sometimes in bouts of psychosis, mania, etc. But whatever about the 40 year old who has suffered with immense depression and has known nothing but loneliness and a crippling environment of capitalism and poverty wasteland?
Who is more selfish? The one who commits suicide or the one who forces another to stay alive?

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Previous Links of Interest

Top Movies
April 2024	March 2024	February 2024	January 2024
Top of 2023	December 2023	November 2023	October 2023
September 2023	August 2023	July 2023	June 2023
May 2023	April 2023	March 2023	February 2023
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Only Discuss Movies You Thought Were Great

I define great movies to be 8+ or if you abhor grades, the top 20% of all movies you've ever seen. Films listed by posters within this thread receive a Vote to determine if they will appear in subreddit's Top 100, as well as the ten highest Upvoted Suggested movies from last month. The Top 10 highest Upvoted from last month were:

Top 10 Suggestions

#	Title	Upvotes
1.	Sucker Punch (2011)	113
2.	The Mist (2007)	51
3.	Mars Express (2023)	17
4.	The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)	14
5.	Talk to Me (2023)	13
6.	Dinner in America (2020)	10
7.	Abigail (2024)	8
8.	Leave No Trace (2018)	9
9.	True Lies (1994)	7
10.	The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023)	9

Note: Due to Reddit's Upvote fuzzing, it will rank movies in their actual highest Upvoted and then assign random numbers. This can result in movies with lower Upvotes appearing higher than movies with higher Upvotes.
What are the top films you saw in May 2024 and why? Here are my picks:

Abigail (2024)

Unfortunately, I was spoiled past the initial premise of kidnappers realizing they've abducted a ruthless mobster's daughter. It didn't matter, Abigail is a great production of the directing duo Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet. They brought rich colours, readible darkness and a satisfying group of actors who executed each of their roles impressively. Seriously, I don't want to praise one actor specifically because my paragraph review would need a lot more lines; if you enjoyed this team's past works, you'll find Abigail to be an even further refinement.

Boy Kills World (2023)

The fourth credit after the movie ends is the action and fight designer, he really made compelling action scenes that sell this movie. It's bloody, it's ridiculous and kind of silly at times, but I dug it like 80s ads for RoboCop action figures, despite that movie being Rated R. Jessica Roethe's character intelligently wears a helmet, so when she's in enforcer mode we get some truly awesome fight cheorography pulled off by a stunt performer who can do it. A love letter to beat 'em ups.

Civil War (2024)

Americans think a Civil War is inevitable and based off of their propaganda machine of American Army sponsored action movies, they'll think it'll be awesome. Garland intends to grab them by the snout and rub their nose in what a dirty mess that would be. I hope that the ugliness in this movie is enough to thwart the typical failing of Anti-War Movies but I doubt that. Those salivating at the idea of the next American Civil War wouldn't be deterred by the horrors but readily take notes.

Destroy All Neighbours (2024)

Every now and then, you come across something that feels like it was made specifically for you. Growing up, I listened to a lot of prog and power metal for their complex melodies and stories. I also have a soft spot for splatter comedies, there's something I find oddly wholesome that the protagonists being able to crack jokes despite being covered in blood and guts. I loved Destroy All Neighbours and you probably wouldn't but that's OK. There's probably a film out there that speaks directly to you that I wouldn't get the appeal of and I'm glad you discovered it.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

I've been catching snippets of Dune's music and it made me want to revisit. A second time through, there are a few more flaws; rough spots, at best, like very clever tricks to make a particular scene flow together. And then I noticed even more interesting bits that I didn't notice the first time around. Overall, Dune: Part Two has risen in my estimation even further.

The Fall Guy (2024)

A love letter to stunts and how they make movies thrilling. It's nice to see a direct pull back wide so you can see how they get rough and tumble, letting stunts get their time in the sun instead of being relegated to a chopped up cut that no one knows what the hell is going on. It's also fun and light, just like a popcorn flick should be. If you're a fan of action, you need to see this.

Infested (2023)

A consistent horror movie with no contrived struggles or wins, everything is clearly telegraphed which enunciates the tension. The treatment of the protagonists due to their obvious poverty is a nice touch, as you could easily see someone richer being treated better. Infested then also manages to cram in a pretty good 'Elevated Horror' where the trauma of the film requires them to re-examine their previous problems. The spiders were also incredible, those with arachnaphobia who might be able to stomach spider-adjacent monsters will probably find the film overwhelming.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Just shy of perfection; it's hard to move past what I now know of Kevin Spacey. Before, I thought he was a good actor and now I know it is movies that let him be himself. That taints the rest of the cast's performances, I couldn't see the character just the exploiter. Which is a shame, as look, writing and acting is otherwise phenomenonal.

Lisa Frakenstein (2024)

God, armed with Diablo Cody's words and under Zelda Williams direction, Kathryn Newton embodies the alt girl chic of the 80s of your dreams and nightmares. It goes full tilt into being a Gothic Horror Comedy which I realize is actually rare. The movie focuses on the drama, letting the comedy to organically come up, which means it is a delightful surprise instead of contrived. Cody even makes the typical different, such as having a nice, wholesome stepsister played incredibly by Liza Soberano. The test for enjoying this movie is simple; at any point were you obsessed with Beetlejuice? In which case, run to check this flick out.
What were your picks for May 2024?

The more conspiracist someone in New Zealand is, the more likely they are to bring up Zimbabwe. I know that because I have a cooker in my family, and by god, you’d think the place was his home country for the amount he talks about it. But it’s become a real conspiracy for the right, and an angle from verified bad actor accounts that was modded out of this sub at our beginning.
And the reason why there’s a direct correlation between conspiracists and Zimbabwe stans is that you can’t help but notice their fears of history repeating fall apart somewhat when you actually look into it. For a start, you can blame one person for the deaths and economic devastation caused by Mugabe, and that Tony Blair, because he kicked the whole thing off when he walked back Thatcher’s promise of 50% of the compensation for white landowners. Thatcher did like one decent thing and Blair came in and messed it up. Not without context. But through its entire history, it is the UK’s choices and the choices of her colonial government there that spur change and negative outcomes in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe was first thought to be mineral rich at its early 1890 settlement, and a lot of money was put into getting prospectors to Southern Rhodesia. When this return didn’t eventuate, land was given to the settlers instead in hope their farming could become productive enough to cover the settlements continuing administrative costs. By 1986 they had distributed 16 million hectares, a sixth of Southern Rhodesia, and by 1917, this was up to 21.5 million hectares. However, this expanse of farming would cause friction of land rights and grazing rights with the two resident groups already living there. Cattle in the region expanded from about 60 000, owned mostly by the preexisting Ndebele and Shona peoples, to up to 2 million split evenly between both groups, leading to overgrazing and land competition.
The solution in the 1930s by the colonial government was a segregated land distribution method split into five parts, with the best 3/5 being reserved for white owners and the much more unusable remainder of the land being split amongst black land owners — despite them being greater in number than white people. White people had so much productive land they literally couldn’t farm it all, while the remaining Tribal Trust land was still being overfarmed, forcing black Rhodesians to seek work in cities and the colonial government to introduce forced destocking measures (sell or slaughter excess animals), as well as putting aside 7.2 million more acres for native farmers to purchase.
The 50s saw attempts at redistribution that ultimately failed and authority for this would then be vested the traditional tribal leaders.
The beginning of the 60s were an attempt to introduce a semblance of actual land parity, splitting the land 50/50 with whites and blacks — unfortunately this didn’t work very well because black people greatly outnumbered white people, and the fertile land was still just given to whites. Abuses of the system also saw white people legally shift their boundaries to claim black land resulting in evictions that would create Nationalist sympathies leading to the following war.
60s-70s was the Rhodesian Bush War between three groups, one of them being the colonial government, and resulting in Mugabe taking power. He was left juggling the land issue along with the cohesion of his new coalition. Farmer workers had fled to cities during the fighting and been organised into guarded settlements following state suppression of armed conflicts. More land was made available to purchase by people of any race, and then race-based ownership was abolished completely in 1979. Despite this, white farmers owned 73% of fertile land and contributed 80% of agricultural output.
Under a doctrine of willing buyer, willing seller for at least ten years, the US and the UK agreed to finance part of the redistribution costs, and Southern Rhodesia was recognised as finally-independent Zimbabwe. However, land inequality and erosion of black land due to forced overfarming continued, but white-owned commercial farms were reduced by about 20% by 1987, and progress was continued into the 90s. However corruption issues began to emerge with land and leases going to Mugabe’s family and political associates as well as other powerful people. Donor and investor states became concerned with who was benefitting, heightened when Mugabe took powers to supersede the courts. He held that land was a political matter only, not judicial.
British opinion in funding this programme would deteriorate, until the Short and the then-Labour government would deny their obligation to support the redistribution programme.

I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and, as you know, we were colonised, not colonisers.

In June 1998, the Zimbabwe government published its "policy framework" on the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase II (LRRP II), which envisaged the compulsory purchase over five years of 50,000 square kilometres from the 112,000 square kilometres owned by white commercial farmers, public corporations, churches, non-governmental organisations and multinational companies. Broken down, the 50,000 square kilometres meant that every year between 1998 and 2003, the government intended to purchase 10,000 square kilometres for redistribution.
In September 1998, the government called a donors conference in Harare on LRRP II to inform the donor community and involve them in the program: Forty-eight countries and international organisations attended and unanimously endorsed the land program, saying it was essential for poverty reduction, political stability and economic growth. They agreed that the inception phase, covering the first 24 months, should start immediately, particularly appreciating the political imperative and urgency of the proposal.
The Commercial Farmers Union freely offered to sell the government 15,000 square kilometres for redistribution, but landowners once again dragged their feet. In response to moves by the National Constitutional Assembly, a group of academics, trade unionists and other political activists, the government drafted a new constitution. The draft was discussed widely by the public in formal meetings and amended to include restrictions on presidential powers, limits to the presidential term of office, and an age limit of 70 for presidential candidates. This was not seen as a suitable outcome for the government, so the proposals were amended to replace those clauses with one to compulsorily acquire land for redistribution without compensation. The opposition mostly boycotted the drafting stage of the constitution claiming that this new version was to entrench Mugabe politically.
Guerrilla veterans of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) began to emerge as a radical force in the land issue around this time. The guerrillas forcefully presented their position that white-owned land in Zimbabwe was rightfully theirs, on account of promises made to them during the Rhodesian Bush War. Calls for accelerated land reform were also echoed by an affluent urban class of black Zimbabweans who were interested in making inroads into commercial farming, with public assistance.
The government held a referendum on the new constitution on 12–13 February 2000, despite having a sufficiently large majority in parliament to pass any amendment it wished. Had it been approved, the new constitution would have empowered the government to acquire land compulsorily without compensation. Despite vast support in the media, the new constitution was defeated, 55% to 45%.
In response, a pro-Mugabe group marched on white owned farms, forcing them and their usually-black workers off their farms without compensation. In the subsequent years of land confiscation, several farm owners and more workers would be killed.
Some of this land ended up under the control of Mugabe and other politicians, however by 2011, 238,000 households had been apportioned from 10 million hectares of land, an improvement of 3.5 million over the 20 years up until 1998. In 2019, white Zimbabwean farmers accepted $17 million USD in compensation, and in 2020 the Zimbabwe government would commit to paying back a further 3.5 billion.
How does this relate to New Zealand?
Well let’s start with the obvious: land distribution issues do not go away because you want them to, nor will democracy protect you from it if you shit on the people you took the land from. Zimbabwe happened because landowners dragged their feet in every decade for a century, and a radicalised political faction springing from this injustice decided legal methods were not the way to go. By the time people were willing to come to the table to resolve it, they were a good fifty behind when they should have and it was too late.
Secondly, picking and choosing what you give back doesn’t work if you’re still just fucking over the tribes you’re giving stuff to to advantage yourself. If you say, give someone a couple of million dollars of value in exchange for the entire canterbury and otago regions, they may decide in 30 years time that wasn’t a very fair deal. And they’re probably right.
Thirdly, black people are not doing well right now in Zimbabwe and neither are white people. But the black people already weren’t doing well. You may look at Zimbabwe and say, well they’ve screwed over their own economy there. But they didn’t. They screwed over the white economy that too many of them already weren’t benefitting from. You see the stability a strong economy gives you and think that other people are benefitting too; Zimbabwe did get a lot out of their land in the 1900s due to colonial investment. But it didn’t benefit all people, and the failure to lift everyone in the rising tide sunk ALL the ships.
The Treaty idea of Partnership is the compromise. Giving back tiny bits of land and small change is the baby steps. Start taking us backwards and you’ll make Maori realise just how shortchanged they’ve been, and the natural result of that is not that they go away, it’s that they start demanding more.
But the level of disenfranchisement, of disrespect, of disempowerment does have to reach a much more egregious level than the situation we have here to result in widespread violence. Six months of Shane Jones does not a civil war make. It is a long, long process to get to a point where a country is that divided, and a lot of legitimate legal, political, and negotiating instruments have to fail. There is also a certain level of disinvestment people have to feel in the overall system to throw what they have away — there’s a reason socialist revolutions don’t come from peaceful, placated societies, even the ones educated enough to know there is something wrong. So therefore, progress must be made gradually through peace and cooperation, because unilateral force always has lasting negative consequences. Attempts to forge ahead with reform despite unhappiness of particular groups, even when legally decided will work out worse for everyone.
There are going to be a million opportunities to turn this ship around. This relationship is nowhere near beyond repair, even between this government and iwi. If Luxon had a spine, he would sit down with them and promise to reverse course, and probably send us all back to the polls as a result. He won’t. But I’m pretty confident he won’t win the next election either, whenever it is, and this country isn’t nearly so divided enough to split down the middle along race grounds, no matter what Seymour wants. But to unify, to meet in the middle, you have to stop considering what you think is fair and start hearing what the other group wants and why.
Otherwise we’re just letting corrupt politicians make land grabs while they cut us in half.