Patricia Mukhim
The other day there was a complaint that a particular candidate from Mawlai was distributing cash to his voters (as if he is the only one doing so). By the time the magistrates and election observers arrived at the scene the drama was over and done with. The alleged candidate feigned complete ignorance and accused his rivals of concocting a cock and bull story because they could not afford to do likewise. No one was caught on camera. Probably the person who was paid money was a decoy sent by a rival candidate. Money changes hands everyday and money is paid by all candidates to their supporters for various reasons. We all know it happens. We in the media have seen it happening and we report what we see but we are not bound to capture the exchange on our mobile phones because we are not election observers. In any case the Election Commission of India really has no defined role for the media during election except to warn us not to indulge in the paid news spectacle. At no time have the media’s help been solicited to bring about a free and fair election. All the bid advert splashes were about increasing voter turnout.
The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Meghalaya is of the view that the mandate of his office is to ensure smooth conduct of elections and to see that every eligible voter turns up at the polling booth. He says it is not his brief to tell people to vote wisely, to reject those with criminal records, not to succumb to bribing for votes etc. If the Election Commission of India (ECI) does not think it is important to deepen democracy through election of responsible legislators then that’s not much of a role. What was the big brou-ha-ha about TN Seshan and JM Lyngdoh after him? Did they not chart out a course of challenging corruption in the electoral system? What have the others coming after them done except to use brand ambassadors (who must be paid a bomb) to show their inked fingers asking us all to vote. I doubt that this would bring about any behavioural change in voters.
I spoke to a retired senior bureaucrat about the needless expenditure involved in packing off election observers from one state to another and often into areas they know very little about. He said that the idea of election observers is a big farce because the civil servants who travel to most states believe that they should just ensure that they manage to arrive at the election date without any controversy whatsoever. Any unwanted episode results in a lot of unnecessary written work that the ECI would prefer to do without. It would only mean extra work for them and for the officers involved. I think for those coming to Meghalaya it’s more of a paid vacation. Their motto is “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and put nothing down in writing.” Some verbal admonitions are good enough. Even the suggestion of using Section 49(O) of the electoral rules to reject the candidates thrust upon the voters would mean extra work for the ECI. They would rather we not use this option.
The ECI rules on election spending are like a sick joke. Each candidate is entitled to spend Rs 8 lakhs while there is no limit set on political parties and how much they can spend. Hence candidates can very well deflect all extra spending to the party that spawned them. No wonder political parties in this country are the biggest extortionists. They can take money from every conceivable source and splash the dough around during elections. They buy up the media (those who wish to be bought). They pay people a daily wage to come and fill up the grounds when the bigwigs come for election campaigns. They pay for transportation. They pay for the buntings, the life size cut-outs of candidates and for every other thing that would ensure voter loyalty. It’s also true that for parties like the Congress, getting well-endowed candidates makes life easier for the party. Candidates have confessed that the least they will have to spend if they really want to win is Rs 2 crore. Those who don’t have that kind of money are considered dummy candidates propped up by someone or the other to confuse the voters. Serious contenders must have Rs 2 crore in their kitty or bow out. I am not sure if Ardent Basaiawmoit who has been preaching about clean elections is able to resist this Tsunami. Is this the reason why some say that his chances of winning are not too bright? After all he is pitted against a rival who belongs to a national party that has no dearth of money and resources!
The other day we had a discussion about the coming election with some friends (what else do people talk about in this season?) about a particular candidate who has very good rapport with voters and who if she had contested had very bright chances of winning and also of serving the electorate. A senior member of her party said that her only disqualification was that she did not have a big enough bank balance to guarantee her success. We are talking here about the Congress party. This is a party that was born on the throes of a liberation struggle. It was the party that fuelled the independence movement. It is the party of Nehru, Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Look where it is today! On the outside the Congress professes commitment to the common Indian person (meaning not the elite) who have in recent times been pejoratively called the “mango people” (aam aadmi). In practical terms this party robs the mango people of their right to elect the right candidates by promoting those who do not deserve to be in the fray. No qualification is required. Money is the only qualification.
And in this entire muddle the ECI virtually tells us it is not involved and cannot be involved in creating awareness among voters about the kind of candidates we ought to elect. For every kind of activity that requires dirtying of the hands, the state which acts pretty much like empire and of which the ECI is an important symbol, tells us that NGOs should be ploughing the election field to educate people. If NGOs have to do every darned thing that the state considers too much of a sticky wicket to handle then a time will come when NGOs will also want to run the government. Is that acceptable?
The ECI’s apathy and officiousness and its one-point agenda to conduct a “smooth” election have made this and all other elections a mere rigmarole. Elections are what make India a democracy. If the process of this election is so skewed that the outcomes are almost predictable then what’s the point of the all the expenditure incurred from time to time. Someone had made a point in this column that we could have just re-nominated the same people and save ourselves all the hundreds of crores trying to conduct an election whose outcome we already know. This sounds cynical but it’s the truth; the bare truth. We are enacting a state-sponsored charade. What does this say about our country and its prime institution? In the world’s oldest democracy candidates debate issues and stand firm on their political ideologies. This enables voters to make informed decisions. But here unworthy wannabes distributing freebie and corrupting people to the core. In fact corruption begins with the election.
The Election officials here know for sure how much each candidate is throwing around but they shut their eyes to this greatest election offence. About the only thing they have successfully done is to temporarily axe the DG Police ( with good reasons) and the Chief Secretary (for no good reason at all except some silly complaint from meddlesome matties) How long can we the people support this charade called election and support the ECI – an institution that perpetuates a meaningless rigmarole?