Festival of democracy

 

Festival of democracy

A country of 28 states and 8 union territories, India, a democracy, needs as many number of governments sharing the burden with the Central Government of governing the country. We know that like for the union government, elections are held every five years in the states too. That means every year some state or the other is going to have a new government for which it is necessary to conduct elections.

In a multi-party system where every party wants to be in power, it remains of no consequence whether it deserves that or not. The objective is to somehow convince the voters that they (the party) are the only ones who would work for them, and win the elections. The preparations start six months to a year before elections when there is a sea of announcements, promises, manifestoes and inaugurations.

Polling is held, votes counted and the new government takes over. By the time they learn the ropes and start working, it is already one year into the government which leaves them with not more than three years to fulfil their own pre-poll promises, deal with the new political, social, and economic issues arising during that time, not to mention the natural calamities that might befall the state in that period, before they start preparing for the next elections. And we haven’t forgotten that they also have to keep an eye on the opposition for any evil design to topple the government as also to keep their flock together, or for that matter, the political and if I may add, financial ambitions of some of their own herd too?

No wonder that election remains the festival of democracy holding the promise of good times ahead. Strangely enough, every citizen tolerates the daily s*** in the name of some good times coming ahead.

Naturally then, elections are a mega affair. Let us not bother our heads about the money involved because the fact is - you and I do not exactly know how, how much and where it comes from. All the information we have is gathered from hearsay and most of it can only be called allegations. It is the process of canvassing that I am interested in.

Let us also not talk of the battle for party tickets. But once they are chosen to contest, all action begins.

(Translation)- If I don't get a ticket from Congress, will fight from Akalis.

If I do not get a ticket from Akalis, will contest from AAP.

If I do not get a ticket from AAP, will contest from Sanyukt Samaj Party.

If I do not get it from Sanyukt Samaj Party, will contest from BJP

but will not give up on the development of Punjab.

Politicians generally treat voters like God - ignoring their existence till it is time to seek something from them-their votes. Then they promise things people have not yet even started dreaming of- 24 hour water and electricity supply, excellent education and health facilities, cleaner environment, safer roads for women to walk on, more jobs and so on. It sounds more like dialogues from a Bollywood movie which we watch to escape the reality of present. They announce it from stage in massive rallies, standing on the seats of open jeeps, recordings running on players put up in auto-rickshaws, full page advertisements in newspapers, press conferences et al.

People making banners, flags, posters, pamphlets, scarves or caps, and other kinds of paraphernalia get nearly as busy as the leaders themselves.

The candidates’ neighbours start to wear a sense of importance because now they have a possible future member of the house living on their street; the tea stall and peanut seller on the corner of the road might not be too pleased though because the policemen on security duty of the candidate have a reputation of ordering their wares without paying for them.

Of course, the candidates do not know us personally but might come with folded hands, asking for our precious votes during their house to house contacts. They organize rallies and heavyweights of their parties address people in their support.

Dressed like common man and woman, the candidates go to villages in their constituency. There everyone they meet is addressed as chacha (father’s brother), mausi (mother’s sister) or the like. A common  practice (I should not call it a fashion though), is for netas (leaders) to stop in some poor man’s hut and share a meal, which he had somehow scrimped to feed his family with. After this seriously honest attempt at achieving and displaying social equality, they whirr past fields leaving behind clouds of dust on the village roads as idle laughing children run after their caravan of swanky vehicles.

'Everyone comes to our house and eats, call us to your house also some day for a meal.'

In the urban areas the small fry variety of netas announce from public address system the arrival of a major name of their party to address them. Generally, the candidate contesting the election is in the ‘also-coming’ category. The roads are blocked, there are massive traffic jams on street corners and all life in the lanes and by lanes comes to a standstill.

Why do party workers who are not yet members of any house and like to be seen in a coat and tie, change to kurta and sadri (waistcoat) once they are elected? 

Then there are rallies addressed by mega stars of political parties for the sake of whom the voter presses the button on the electronic voting machine. The event being a show of their strength, the effort is to gather as many thousands of people as possible.

The voter is believed to have a short memory. The bigwigs dig out and voice such nuggets of information about communal, religious, economic and social issues and the misdeeds of their political opponents that ignorant ones like me get confused if the hours we spent in school learning our glorious history were worth it, after all. If in power, they constantly remind you of the good work they have done in their last tenure.

If in the opposition, they pick out the loopholes, drawbacks, frauds and lies in these claims.

Have you ever stopped to think of the plight of the animals in the Lucknow zoo who suddenly have a barrage of visitors on rally days? Brought mostly on the promise of poori-subzi and a few rupees, these men and women take a day off from work to go for a picnic in the capital city. They attend the rally for a while, pick up their food-packets and keep wandering around till it is time to return to the buses, trucks and trolleys they came in, to be transported back to their nests at dusk. The traffic on the city’s main roads is thrown out of gear with office-goers swearing at the mindlessly walking population. Those are some of the few days one actually feels sympathy for the city police.

(Translation)- Do not spoil your personal relations over the issue of elections, later Gabbar and Thakur all are seen together.

Hit by the blitzkrieg of various kinds of information, the voters’ emotions are stirred. They start parroting the same things and only manage to lose old friends, or sometimes make new ones over which party or candidate is the best choice.

Once elected, the candidates walk about with armed guards forming a tight ring around them as if suddenly the voters pose a danger to their mortal selves.

Alas, Covid virus has robbed us of the excitement this time when five of the states go to polls this month. Perhaps cautious after the experience of West Bengal elections last year when Covid cases surged after crowds of thousands of unmasked faces breathed one another’s expelled air in rallies organized to put up a political khela (game) merely to shout out ‘we’re the winners’, this year all rallies have been banned.

Your option is to keep peering at mobile and TV screens to enjoy digital electioneering this time. It is perhaps good for the environment that miles of paper and cloth would not be used for banners, posters and pamphlets. But you can indulge your senses in cacophonic war of words for electoral supremacy as participants and anchors engage in verbal duels of allegations and counter-allegations on various channels. It looks like whoever wins the electronic and word-of-mouth war would be the winner.

You still have the pleasure of watching pre and post-poll surveys, exit polls and political analysis. The surmise is that these state elections are a precursor to the general elections to be held after two years. So be prepared for upheaval of political weather even as all normal work comes to a standstill.

                                                                                            - Anupama S Mani