When I initial campaigned in an election in 1977, the predicament was not ugly. There have been some undesirable items in that election but not the ugly items that we see today.
Year: 1977. State: Tamil Nadu. Indira Gandhi had named an election, freed the leaders detained for the duration of the Emergency, and faced a resurgent Opposition. M G Ramachandran had broken away from the DMK in 1972, formed his personal party (AIADMK), won a essential Lok Sabha by-election, and was riding an unprecedented wave of reputation and adulation. The Congress (I) had joined hands with the AIADMK and faced the DMK that was in the forefront of opposing the Emergency. Surprising most people today, the anti-Emergency wave that swept across the northern states could not cross the Vindhyas.
Good and Ugly Sides
That election was a decent, fair and cost-free election. The Election Commission (EC) was fiercely independent: for instance, it acknowledged the logic of allotting a widespread symbol to all the candidates of the AIADMK (although it was not a recognised party and had won only one by-election). Candidates spent dollars on cars for campaigning, posters, leaflets, meetings — and on practically nothing else. It was genuinely campaign and canvassing for votes. There have been not even rumours of bribing voters.
The ugly side was the elections have been determined by the dominant castes, commonly the land-owning class. The extremely poor, the Dalits and the tribals had tiny selection but to vote according to the wishes of the dominant castes and the landlords. The minorities have been silent — but not afraid — and voted as directed by the leaders of their communities. Legally, it was a cost-free election, but not as cost-free as it need to be in a accurate democracy.
Fast forward to 2021. Elections are undoubtedly more democratic in the sense that no section of the people today fears any other section. Caste plays a essential part, but not as considerably as in the previous. Class is largely irrelevant: the poor do not worry the wealthy, and vote freely.
Distressing Trends
The new ugliness are dollars and the broadly-shared perception that the EC is no longer genuinely independent. Both are body blows to democracy. For instance, in Tamil Nadu, the EC has not been capable to cease the distribution of dollars. Money is supplied to — and accepted by — virtually just about every voter.
Humongous sums of dollars are spent on just about every rally of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. A giant stage is erected, LED screens are installed, hundreds of cars are hired to bring people today to the rally, and dollars and meals are offered to them. Crores of rupees are spent on marketing, on social media outlets, on quick messages, on phone calls and on paid news (popularly named ‘packages’!). No one denies that crores of rupees are spent by political parties, but it is not reflected on the expenditure side or receipt side of either the parties or the candidates.
Old-style campaigning and canvassing for votes are out. I wonder if they will ever return. An election is no longer a festival of democracy but a staged occasion.
The other distressing function is the suspected bias of the EC. I will commend the work and the honesty of the presiding officers in the polling stations, the technicians who sustain the EVMs and VVPATs, and the counting officers on counting day. However, I have critical reservations about the basic superintendence and handle exercised by the EC.
Scales are Tilted
Mr A Raja of the DMK was banned from campaigning for 48 hours for an ill-believed and derogatory remark but, in the case of Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP who had created an equally derogatory remark, the initial ban of 48 hours was scaled down to 24 hours. Why?
Every speech of Ms Mamata Banerjee was seized upon to warn her, to challenge notices to her, and ultimately to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours. Did the EC uncover practically nothing incorrect in the speeches of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister? What about the PM’s remark that if the minorities are exhorted not to split their votes, the majority need to contemplate what they need to do in such a predicament? What about the street-level, cat-get in touch with like jibe of ‘Didi-o-Didi’? Is that the manner in which a prime minister need to refer to a chief minister? I can not visualize a Jawaharlal Nehru or a Morarji Desai or a Vajpayee speaking that language.
The most egregious action of the EC was spreading the election calendar in West Bengal more than eight phases and 33 days. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have, with each other, 404 seats and elections could be held on one day, April 6. Why does West Bengal with 294 seats need eight days? The suspicion is that it was completed to allow the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to campaign on more days in West Bengal.
What the EC wants is a T N Seshan. He was described as a bull dog, but he was a bull dog that did not worry or oblige his master. I would nonetheless give the advantage of doubt to the EC, but we will watch their conduct amongst now and May 2.
The survival of democracy depends upon the cost-free exercising of the will of the people today. The cost-free exercising of the will of the people today depends on the independence of the Election Commission.