Of money flowing in polls: Is this democracy?

The concept of free and fair elections is fading fast in the country. Indian democracy is suffocating because of bad politics and needs dire and comprehensive electoral reforms. -- ETV Bharat reproduces Eenadu Editorial.

The election process in India has somewhat lost its sanctity due to parties engaging in immoral, corrupt, and inhumane politics. It is famous as a fair of temptations that takes place every five years. A lawsuit has been filed against Ravindranath, the MP from the Theni constituency in Tamil Nadu, alleging that he won by hiding the facts about his assets and luring voters with gifts. The Madras High Court, which heard it, recently ruled that Ravindra's election was invalid.

If we look at it in the same way, how many MLAs and MPs across the country will be elected? JD(S) MLA Gauri Shankar Swamy was disqualified from the legislature in March after it was found that he had distributed fake insurance bonds to the people in the 2018 state elections. It is indisputable that those who mocked democracy and won in crooked ways should be sacked immediately.

What is the point of taking action against such culprits after they complete their entire term of office? Seven years ago, Naseem Zaidi, as the Chief Election Commissioner of the Central Election Commission, had announced that candidates who submitted certificates with false details should be sentenced to two years in jail and barred from contesting any other elections for six years. The Commission proposed to disqualify the respective MPs and MLAs at the stage of registration of charges in cases of bribery and undue influence on voters. In 2017, it wrote to the Centre to amend the Representation of the People Act accordingly. The million-dollar question, however, is whether it will ever be possible to cleanse the system to that extent!

As 'Loknaik' Jayaprakash Narayan once described, "True politics is about the promotion of human happiness”. The parties who do not even dream of such an idea are making leaders of liars, illegals, and anarchists. Most of the candidatures are tied to those who can get votes by inciting or threatening people. Elections are now so rich that no common man who is a public servant can set foot in the legislatures. It is estimated that all the parties together spent up to Rs 10,000 crore for the 1999 general campaign.

A study by CMS has revealed that by the time of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the expenditure has gone up to Rs 60,000 crore. If we include the assembly elections, it is difficult to imagine the amount of money pouring into the hands of parties and candidates. It is an open secret that political parties have spent between Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore for a single by-election. Cases of leaders distributing money as much as Rs 5000 per vote often come to light.

The propaganda campaigns of the political parties by feeding the mercenary workers with liquor and dinners are putting people's lives in dire straits. What is the relevance of holding public meetings at huge expense in the digital age where any information can reach millions of people in seconds? The ideologies of the respective parties and plans for solving public problems should form the crux of an election campaign.

All that is being sidelined in the contemporary political battlefield. Abominable personal criticisms, hateful comments on casteism, and communal statements abound at poll rallies these days. The concept of free and fair elections is fading fast in the country. Indian democracy is suffocating because of bad politics and needs dire and comprehensive electoral reforms.

(Translated version of the editorial first published in Eenadu)