To your question -"So, have the Election Commission's measures inadvertently helped the two parties that claim to champion the cause of the lower castes, especially the BSP?" ..... There is nothing 'inadvertent' about it! Fair and free election keeps democracy on track. What we need to realise is that free and fair elections are also the 'economic engine' for free market based political economy. Now more likely than before, the vast Hindi heartland would ramp up the speed of socio-economic growth.
