Election musings 2009

— Saikh Md Sabah Al-Ahmed General Elections 2009 are just round the corner. The Election Commission (EC) has already set the cat among our ‘political pigeons’, ever since its announcement of the cumbrous five-phased poll dates to elect the 15th Lok Sabha, starting from April 16 to May 13, thus bringing into immediate force, the -model code of conduct’. The largest democracy of the world would go to polls to choose its representatives through a record number of 71.40 crore voters with 4.30 crore of them being eligible to vote for the first time. The people of India will have a new government in place headed by a Prime Minister by June 2, 2009.

Having already churned out 14 heads of State, since the very first general elections of 1951 held in independent India, elections in India have come a long way, but all along, elections have been undoubtedly, a momentous and ineffaceable cultural aspect of independent India steeped and soaked in its very ethos. In fact, elections in India, have always been somewhat like a quintessential mela, a huge gathering of people bustling with cacophonic activity, neatly clad in their best available attire, flamboyantly armed with their political rights, taking pride, even though momentarily, in the fact that at least for today, they would be the real kingmakers, calling the shots. And every election has a message from the real kingmaker, i.e. the voter himself. This in itself hitherto remains a paradoxical irony in India’s variegated political fabric.

The orb of election is without an iota of doubt, democracy’s greatest comfort quotient. Elections in fact provide the much needed cushioning effect for democracy. Had there been no elections, democracy, or even for that matter, any semblance. Of it that remotely resembles democracy, would have been gasping for breath at the very doorsteps of our civil society. Elections are the most visible of the external trappings of the institution called democracy. The real essence of any vibrant democracy supporting a liberal civil society lies wholly on the aspect of elections. It’s in the citadel of these elections that the hallowed institution of democracy seems to have been safely ensconced and cocooned, at least at face value, with a few exceptional historical blunders here and there. The political mandarins seem to have once again come a full circle, since they were last put through the litmus test in 2004. Its exam time as usual for them. They need to buck up and put their skates on to get their homework done in right earnest if at all they are to nurture any hopes of passing out with flying colours. With the coming of elections, an air of subtle expectancy engulfs over the myriad contenders, who kick start their political campaign with high hopes and expectations; hobnobbing and jostling to get that perfect political permutation and combination right and stay way ahead of the rest in the ensuing political slugfest so as to avoid a near fatal ‘political hemorrhage’, culminating in their ‘political doomsday’. Finally, just like the eagerly expectant mother dying to have the first glimpse of her newborn, or for that matter, the nervous little student waiting ever eagerly for the results of his life’s first board exams, the politician too, waits with bated breath on ‘Judgement Day’, when his ‘political fate’ finally gets decided.

The electorate in India, who gets to decide the fate of these aspiring leaders ironically for that very solitary day itself, are forlornly left at their whims and fancies, supposedly for the next 5 years. It seems our innate gullibility has prevailed over our gumption, they have charmed us once again and won both our trust as well as our vote. In a nation’s desperate and chronic search for ‘quality leadership’, we are again left with a bunch of so called ‘people’s representatives’, who do not necessarily seem to embody our dreams of a ‘New India’. Yes, we do however need only ‘a few’ to represent a mass of ‘two billion’. But, we need the ‘right few’ to deal with the complexities and contradictions of a nation as diverse as ours.

Having initially exuded a certain sense of pessimism, let us at least for once, look beyond our everyday cynicism of inconsistencies and look at India through a prism not so bleak and void of hope. Let us resolutely resolve to change the face of Indian polity. Let’s begin our search for true leaders, right here, right now. Much before we cast our ballot, instead of going to the electoral booth and complaining peevishly of the scant choices that lie before us, let us decide the attributes of a true leader, someone against whose name we proudly want to put the stamp of support. Our introspection may compel every politician to look within and provide answers. Our vision for the nation may help provide clarity in the minds of all those who are our elected representatives.

This April-May, we have yet another such opportunity. And this time, India can really make a difference. We may not have one voice, but we do certainly have a common dream, a dream of an India with more economic freedom, of an India with more personal freedom, of an India where education matters, of an India where good governance is the norm rather than the exception and of an India that “has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls”. Let’s begin our search for representatives who govern, not on the basis of their self-serving platitudes, but on the basis of ground realities such as issues of security and livelihood in a more transparent, no-nonsense and efficient manner. This time, our continued silence will not help us. We need to come together and make a choice that takes us forward and make our dreams come true.

All said and done, there are certain pertinent questions that hitherto remain unanswered amidst this euphoric optimism and political slugfest. Is the idea of nationalism, in the emerging graffiti of political interests and conflicting ideologies somehow getting trampled? Is the larger interest of serving the nation getting lost in the struggle for political survival” We the people of India are being treated to this tamasha that takes place during every election when the candidates easily switch loyalties if denied a ticket. The recent political developments are indicative of an environment of severe unpredictability as parties break from the old and gear up for newer alliances. Are we going to see a new page written in India’s electoral history? The Indian electorate though, is predictably very unpredictable; no generalisation can be safely conjectured for India’s electorate, as only the equal and opposite hold true here. But conjectures apart, this is an India that 62 years after the British left, is still ‘ruled’. This is an India that 62 years after the British left is still seeking, not to be ,ruled’ but be `led’. Sadly, we found ‘rulers’, but couldn’t find our ‘leaders’; we found ‘politicians’, but couldn’t find a single ‘statesman’. This is an indelible national reality and is here to stay. ASSAM TRIBUNE