The stage is set for the biggest democratic electoral
process in the world where approximately 814.5 million Indians out of a
population of over a billion people will exercise their democratic right in the
coming months. According to the center for media studies the political parties
are expected to spend 30,500 crores ($ 5 billion) in this election. In addition this election will also cost the exchequer
3500 crores ($573 million). As you can see the cost of democracy is enormous.
While the political bigwigs Congress and BJP are in the lead,
neither of them appear to achieve the majority to form the goverment. Which
means that a coalition government will take oath once again with the support of
regional parties. In return the plum offers these regional parties are likely to receive
is another matter for debate.
It happens only in India. Little seems to have changed with
major political parties continuing to partronize candidates with criminal
records. Both Congress and BJP continue to give tickets to candidates with
serious criminal records including murder.
A surprise entry in the upcoming parliament election is the
AAP (Aam Atmi Party) projected as the
common man’s party. Holding a broom which
symbolizes a promise to clean up corruption deeply rooted in Indian politics,
AAP appears to make their presence felt in the Indian politics under the
leadership of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. A
number of eminent people who have been fed up with the existing political
parties now have a choice and a good reason to enter politics and make an
impact.
While Narendra Modi of BJP is potentially the next Prime minister
if BJP takes center stage with the support of National democratic alliance, it
is debatable as to whether Modi can replicate across India the success he made
in his home state Gujarat given the fact that a prime minister has limitation
especially under a coalition government. In a coalition goverment it is hard to
always please the allies as they remain a permanent pain in the neck. Being a hardliner,
whether Modi will be able to please the allies through out his 5 years term is
another matter of concern.
The curse of India is the countless regional parties who are
opportunistic and tend to change their position in a split second if their demands
are not met. The writings are on the
wall. The deep divide between regions inherent in our political system is clearly
evident thanks to the various political parties. Whoever takes on the power to
steer India has a huge challenge ahead.
What does it all mean to a billion population? There are many questions to be answered. Will
the new government be able to provide sustainable and inclusive (benefiting everyone
across India without discrimination) growth? Will they be able to put control
on inflation? Etc etc..
The biggest democratic electoral system has its own flaws. People have very limited choice in terms of
who they want to handover the power to. No matter which party comes to power, a
corruption free India is a distant dream or will remain a mirage.
Well, don’t lose heart. If you are not happy with any of the
projected candidates, the election commission has bestowed you with an
unprecedented option to vote NOTA (None of the above). Meaning that no candidate deserves my vote and
in all likely hood many who are fed up with the existing political system will
choose to go for that option. Post election, the upcoming parties like the AAP may very well capitalize the statistics of the NOTAs so that they can position themselves
better to exploit the gaps going forward. Is
the option NOTA going to change anything for the winning candidate? Probably very little.
The candidate who gets the highest vote still wins despite the significant drop in the candidate’s vote banks.
The fate of India and its biggest population are sealed even before the election. With no credible political parties in the race, you and I can do very little about it by the voting process. Isn't that frustrating? Well as depressing as it may sound,
that doesn’t give much hope for the progress of India. Does it? God bless the Indians.
