It is that time of the tenure in
the five states of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, that
the polity is curdled, and out come the goodies – material and otherwise – to woo
the electorate. This is that time of the tenure when the common man is made to
feel like King! And Queen!! The time when, actually, the King comes to your
doorstep to enquire if all’s well . . .
Each state has its own way of
wooing the voters, just like how it has its own, unique set of problems or
issues. The colour of the parties, too, varies from left to right of the whole
spectrum – not as extreme as one would imagine, though – as does the ideology
of each them. But, yes, each has to deal with some kind of extremism, and then
some. Both internal and external.
And, talking of ideology, it does
not necessarily differ from just party to party, but like chameleons, it
changes from time to time with each party, too. If one fought the right the
last time around, it fights the left this time. Ultimately, it is the voting
citizen who gets punched from all sides.
Much like the issues. Newer ones,
or the same ones like the last time around, but with a twist. Some rival-inflicted,
some by the nature. Each issue is seen as something that has been pounded upon
with vengeance. Be it by a rogue-rival or by the nature. Or just laxity.
Then there are many mini-games
within the big one. One such is the blame-game. None is spared. Even God!
Cyclones, floods, etc., can be deemed as act of God. But flyover? Floods in
Chennai? Poor God . . .
If an economy can be measured by
the issues that hound the rivals, then India would be at the top –many pop up
around this season – the poll season, that is – when issues are made out of
non-issues, and the real ones forgotten conveniently. Only, corruption is common
across the regions and parties.
There are floods, refugees and
migrants (not political!), prohibition of liquor, et al that make noise during
the rallies. All die a silent death soon after the polls. The parties dole out
goodies with the party emblems etched on them, that may not even live till the
next election. Migrant natives make it a point to head home to get the goodies –
vote or not.
There have been democracies – big
and small – worldwide that try to emulate the election story of India – a success
story at that. Through a few decades since, the Election Commission of India
(ECI) – the body that oversees the whole process – has been consistently
getting the thumbs up each time the electorate gets its finger marked. And
providing it with the logistical support has been the security forces of the
country, which invariably puts its hands up to be counted, whose sleepless
nights extend much after the day the counting of votes happen. And many of which
don’t get to vote!
Come 19 May 2016, India might
have a different colour on its corners!
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