Electoral democracy faces headwinds

Julio Ribeiro

AFTER his one-man show at Ayodhya, where he was the cynosure of all eyes at the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been riding the crest of a wave. After he tried out deep-sea diving and praying on a mat laid out on the seabed, his faithful followers were told by some wag that he was about to set off into space with four Indian astronauts for company. Three of them were Group Captains and the fourth a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The BJP’s ‘hunger’ for victory in every election, however inconsequential, has become the norm. The Opposition has no answer to this phenomenon.

I explained to one of these gullible diehards that our beloved PM was only going to their IAF training base to encourage them in their mission and that he was neither trained nor acclimatised to go into space. The man did not believe me, of course. If Modi could dive deep into the sea in his prayer clothes with only an oxygen mask as protection, surely he would be able to venture into space with or even without the gear astronauts wear. Deep-sea divers wear flippers, but Modi had gone to the seabed with his feet bare, as at prayer time.

And what exactly would Modi have been praying for? For a victory in the Lok Sabha polls? All pundits predict a third term for him. He need not have taken the trouble to go underwater at Dwarka since victory was a given. Possibly, it was more than victory that he prayed for — for a clean sweep, perhaps — so that he could prove to the doubting Thomases that India is the ‘mother of democracy’.

And what type of democracy would that be? Like China’s or North Korea’s, which boast of one supreme ruler and one all-encompassing party? Discipline then would be effectively enforced. India would not only become the third largest economy in the world but also the third most powerful country. The age of the ‘Argumentative Indian’ would be well behind us. The age of the ‘Conforming Indian’ would dawn. A command or two would all be needed to propel us to our rightful place in the world.

If every Opposition leader cannot be made to cross over before elections, the time-tested ploy is to entice the disgruntled or the plain greedy to change loyalties. The BJP had won only 25 seats in the 2022 Himachal Assembly elections, way behind the Congress’ 40. The BJP candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha poll needed seven Congress votes to win outright. The party succeeded in enticing six MLAs, thus necessitating a tie-breaker. Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost out in the draw of lots and was declared defeated.

The BJP’s ‘hunger’ for victory in each and every election, however inconsequential, has become the norm. The Opposition parties have no answer to this phenomenon, which threatens to make elections redundant. Those with a majority in the Assembly are reduced to minority overnight. No other known democracy in the world seems to be copying or even attempting to copy the ‘mother of democracy’! Thank whatever gods that be for that! Because if it becomes a feature worldwide, the definition of democracy will need to be changed.

What is surprising is that voters in our country seem to have accepted this immorality without any protest. If the voters’ choice is discarded in this method of attaining power, why bother to take the trouble of voting? Let the party with the biggest bank balance or the most effective propaganda machine be declared the winner. Its leader can be asked to nominate the legislators, who will then obediently comply with his or her directions.

If the voting public does not want to be a part of this humongous scam, it should unite and demand that any lawmaker who wishes to change sides should first resign and re-contest on the ticket of the party he or she has chosen. The lawmaker may or may not win the fresh contest, but the voters will not have been taken for a ride by unscrupulous political manoeuvres.

If, however, the voting public accepts these shenanigans, as it now appears to be doing, the fate of our democracy is sealed, even if it calls itself the ‘mother of democracy’. The prospect of MLAs switching sides on the basis of tempting offers will put paid to our PM’s pet project of ‘One Nation, One Election’. Because elections would be meaningless in this scheme of things.

Of course, our Indian version of democracy has evolved. It has formulated escape routes from treacherous situations. The Speaker in the Himachal Assembly disqualified six MLAs for defying the party whip. The ruling party’s strength was reduced to 34 MLAs, but the BJP’s tally was not simultaneously increased. It will rest at 25 till some other unhappy Congressmen are lured.

It is interesting to record that the Congress is the main stomping ground of the rampaging BJP. Most turncoats are from the grand old party! Why is it so? My view is that they originally joined the Congress to make a good living. There was nothing noble about the decision. These turncoats will now adorn the ‘party with a difference’. But there will be no difference henceforth between the Congress and the BJP as the new entrants will only pay lip service to Hindutva ideology.

The BJP’s Hindutva agenda had brought a big dollop of pride into the lives of many Hindu brothers and sisters. Their ancestors had felt left out during Mughal times and later under colonial rule.

I recall a conversation I had in Punjab with a respected Sikh woman. She told me that Sikhs had been reduced to second-class citizens in their own land! I was taken aback by her accusation because she herself was raking in ‘hot millions’. I replied: “Madam, if you consider yourself a second-class citizen, I will have to be categorised two notches lower at fourth.” It was her turn to be amazed.

Modi should resist the temptation to dive into the ocean or ‘soar into space’, unless his propaganda team has decided that the educated people’s votes that will be lost by indulging in such ‘escapades’ will be more than compensated by a steep increase in votes of the less fortunate of our brethren. But will it? That is the sixtyfour-dollar question.

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#Democracy #Hindus #Narendra Modi #Ram Temple