Since his moral victory in forcing the government to form a joint panel for drafting the long pending Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare has been facing sniper attacks from politicians of all hues.

Anna Hazare

Kapil Sibal took a pot shot at him for his obsession with the Lokpal bill claiming that the people’s problems were different and that the bill had no significance for the illiterate and thirsty.  This was a specious argument, considering the fact that the poor and the illiterate are most affected by corruption because it denies them the their much needed entitlements. Digvijay Singh then suggested that Anna Hazare should fight elections. This was a subtle reminder that the influence veiled by him was extra constitutional and that the government may not be willing to oblige him all the time.  His reference to elections is consistent with the thinking of the political class that considers electoral victory (by fare or foul means) to be the touch stone of all power in a Democracy and attaches no significance to morality. Pranab Mukeherjee dubbed the joint panel as a ‘new experiment‘, the success or failure of which will determine its outcome, hinting government unease and a possible future snub. L.K. Advani in a veiled attack, criticized persons close to Anna Hazare for demonizing politicians. There was even a tame protest by various political parties against the overt attempt of agitating Civil Society activists to distance themselves from all political parties by refusing entry to them. To top it all, an anonymous CD surfaced just days before the first meeting of the joint panel, accusing the Civil society co-chair,Shanti Bhushan of trying to negotiate to fix a judge. Another bomb shell was dropped by the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, who is also a civil society representative on the panel, by his statement that he was considering to resign from the panel in view of the ongoing slander campaign against them.

All of the above may seem like disparate and disjointed criticism, but their real target is the Lokpal Bill itself. Politicians fear that the presence of civil society  members will throw up a draft that will be politically very costly to oppose. This is why they are desperately trying to nibble away the credibility of the civil society members to turn the panel into a nonstarter . They were all together in condemning Anna Hazare for his denigrating of the politicians. This despite the fact that everyone agrees that the movement would have fallen flat on its face, had it been perceived to be obligated to any political party. This predicament of politicians where it is hard even to argue that there are good as well as bad politicians, is what worries the top political leaders most. Yet the decline has not been sudden. Things have grown from bad to worse. For years civil society activists have waged a loosing battle for reforms. Thinks have failed to take off wherever interests of the ruling elite have converged. Political leadership have also failed miserably in isolating the bad apples amongst them. For too long the law makers have reveled in being the chief law breakers.

Even though in the past too there have been many fasts unto death inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, most have faced public apathy, some were dubbed as maverick acts, some were even made fun of. Very few have received  the wide spread public support that Anna Hazare got. His honesty and simplicity though were only part of the reason. The other important reason was the in rising public anger against rampant corruption and the recently unleashed season of corruption that never ends. Even though there is no denying the danger of a sustained denigration of politicians in general, corrective measures are needed to restore the balance of public concern in governance. Only massive public support can ensure that the involvement of civil society does not remain an isolated experiment but leads to more responsive governance that acts instead of stalling crucial reform legislations such as Women’s reservation, Election reform, Police reform, Witness protection act etc. apart from the Lokpal Bill and the anti corruption measures.

Recently while campaigning for Bihar Elections, Sharad Yadav made a controversial remark about ‘throwing Rahul Gandhi’ into the Ganges. While his remark may simply have been a ruse to draw attention, there does exist a valid case for dumping all the current Maharashtra politicians into the Arabian sea.

New Breed of Maharashtra Politicians

Without that, there can be no fresh beginning. Since Ashok Chavan’s offer to resign over the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the guessing game for the next Chief Minister has already begun, similar to the speculation that was rife when Vilasrao Desmuskh was removed after 26/11 Mumbai attack. Given that multiple relatives of Ashok Chavan have been found to have received allotment of the multi-crore flats in the Adarsh Housing Society, which was cleared in the name of Kargill widows and war heros, his continuation as CM, seems highly untenable. The choices though among the present pool of Maharashtra politicians are horrifying. The usual names of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Nararyan Rane etc. are doing the rounds, but all of them are part of a discredited lot. It is not just the ruling party that faces such a predicament, its alliance partner NCP is no better and neither is the opposition of Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS. It seems as if the entire polity of Maharashtra has been vitiated. Overdose of money, fame and crime reek from every pore of state politicians, resulting in bad governance, mismanagement and Corruption. Wealth accumulation seems to be their only goal. Behind the public facade of political rivalry, the real race is for money. This last decade and a half has seen a curious game of Musical Chairs being played amongst its 5 ex-Chief Ministers , 2 ex-Depty Chief Ministers and the current CM and Dy CM. Roller coaster rides of some of the key players are detailed below:-

Vilasrao Deshmukh(Congress): CM from 1999-2003, was replaced by Sushil Kumar Sihinde in January 2003 –> Again become CM after 2004 elections replacing Shinde –> had to resign after 26/11 attacks in 2008, was replaced by Ashok Chavan –> rehabilitated into Union Cabinet in May 2009 as  Minister for Heavy Industries.

Sushil Kumar Shinde(Congress): CM briefly between January 2003 – November 2004, replacing Vilasrao Deshmukh –> Won the elections but was replaced by Vilasrao Deshmukh again, and was packed up as Governor of Andhra Pradesh –> inducted into Union Cabinet as Minster for Power in 2006.

Narayan Rane(Congress, ex-Shiv Sena): CM for a brief period in between February – October 1999 from Shiv Sena, lost Elections in 1999. Quit Sena and joined Congress in 2005 and became minister in the state cabinet since then

Chagan Bhujbal(NCP,ex-Shiv Sena): Deputy Chief Minister October 1999 – December 2003 –> quit on account of Telgi Scam –> reinducted as Deputy CM in December 2008 replacing R.R. Patil

R R Patil(NCP,ex-Congress): Deputy Chief Minister October 2004 – December 2008 –> had to resign after 26/11 attack –> rehabilitated as State Home Minister in October 2009

Towering above everyone else there is Sharad Pawar, who formed NCP in June 1999 after quitting Congress over Sonia Gandhi’s foreigner status, yet had no qualms aligning with Congress in the state (1999 onwards) and at the centre (2004 onwards) for power sharing. Besides being the overworked Union Minister for Agriculture and PDS, he still finds time to be the czar of the multi-billion Cricket Industry and the NCP President. He has diverse business interests, majority of which are undisclosed. Closely linked to him is Praful Patel, a businessman turned politician who is currently the Minister of state for Civil Aviation in the Union Cabinet. To give him company there is another businessman turned politician of the Congress party, Murli Deora, who is the Union Cabinet Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas since 2006. None of them however can overshadow Suresh Kalmadi who outshone everyone in the just concluded Common Wealth Games.

The opposition ranks are equally discredited and insipid. The principal opposition party, Shiv Sena formed on narrow, regional parochialism and Hindu right wing ideology is on the decline due to an overage patriarch and the third term out of power. Its writ though still runs large among Businessmen and Film fraternity, whom they armtwist with the threat of violence. Matching them step for step and exceeding in venality is its new off shoot MNS. This new breed of politicians is even more brazen and intolerant.  The BJP has long been reduced to being an appendage of the Shiv Sena and is incapable of independent action.

On closer scrutiny three prominent trends in Maharashtra politics stand out:-

1. All major political parties are controlled by ‘remote control’. In case of Congress it is true nationally, yet the vagaries of changes in Maharashtra have surpassed their own standards. For NCP, the keys to power are securely kept with Sharad Pawar and his confidante Praful Patel.They may be Union Ministers but their heart still lies in Maharashtra. Balasaheb Thakrey of Shiv Sena has always prided himself for being  above the fray. In his hey days, he nominated Manohar Joshi to be the Chief Minister only to be replace him with Narayan Rane towards the fag end of his term. BJP’s remote control used to be with Pramod Mahajan till he was alive, after that it has lost relevance. The politics of extra constitutional authority has often brought in power without accountability leading to more rapid degeneration.

2. Another salient characteristic of Maharashtra politicians is their close association with business community. Mumbai being the business capital of India, most politicians have overt business interests in Sugar, Real Estate, Education or Hospitality besides covert involvement in crime syndicates or illicit businesses. This has created strong vested interests and fueled Corruption at all levels.

3.Whenever someone gets discredited in the public eye or is named in a scam, he is shunted out for a brief period of time, only to return back either in the state or the centre, after the public gaze shifts on to some one else.

There is little hope for Maharashtra with the current batch of politicians. @Chetan_Bhagat has a point when he suggests that may be its time for Rahul Gandhi to try his hand at being the interim Maharashtra CM before he ascends the throne at Delhi.

Three months back Pritish Nandy wrote a hard hitting article ” The irrelevance of BJP” lamenting on its state of affairs with a view to bring it out of its stupor. On the other hand Rajesh Jain, India’s numero uno digital entrepreneur and also a leading light of the ‘Friends of BJP’ has long maintained that it would be too much for us to expect the rise of another National Party in our lifetime, so we are stuck with the choice between the two mainstream political parties -  Congress and BJP. Both got me thinking on what would it take to revive BJP. BJP after all is not just a Hindu nationalist party of right leaning individuals. Its our only hope for creating a bipolar polity in out country. It is almost 30 years old (if we disregard its previous avatar of ‘Janasangh’), yet it has just managed to cross the Vindhyas to form a government in Karnataka. There are still many regions and states where it does not have a presence and several others where it had a  dominant position earlier, but is now in decline. Hoping another new, emergent party to match the national presence of Congress might be  nothing short of asking for a miracle.

That BJP is in shambles, there is no doubt. Loosing two elections in a row seem to have brought it down to its knees and  exposed all the chinks in its armour. From being a party of youthful leaders most of its youthful leaders have shown themselves to be made of clay. They specialise in bringing down each other while giving a walkover to the ruling party. It has miserably failed to be an effective opposition even though they have been handed price rise as an issue on the platter.

Its time, BJP rethinks its vision as a party right of centre that aspires to dominate Indian Politics as one of the two major national parties.  While its roots and ascendancy did lie in being a pro-Hindu, anti-Muslim party, going further it may need to do a rethink.  In a country where a large majority (almost 90%) of politicians are all hindus, being pro-Hindu does not count for much. Whatever boost it got from the Ayodhya issue can hardly ever be replicated again,as people tend to quickly return to their normal state after the aberrations of agitations like L. K. Advani’s Rath  Yatra subside. As for being anti-Muslim, they needs to do a dispassionate analysis of the baggage that it brings and its advantages, if any. It may have helped them consolidate their position in Gujarat to successfully ward off the challenge from Congress in successive elections. But while they won the battle in Gujarat, they lost the war of India. From Trinamool Congress to Biju Janata Dal, they lost critical allies as a result of their stance on Gujarat issue. Even now, this issue remains the sore point with their only remaining major ally, Janata Dal United (JDU) in Bihar. Its longest standing pro-Hindu ally, Shiv Sena on the other hand is turning more and more into a liability rather than an asset. In the process, BJP has failed even to become the epicenter of the non-Congress, non-left opposition. The biggest worry for BJP should be that even in opposition, anti-BJP-ism is a bigger draw than anti-Congress-ism. For those who think that Gujarat can be replicated in India, they need to draw lessons from the Communist plight in West Bengal. Indoctrination such as Gujarat or West Bengal, only has a limited shelf life and can never be replicated nationally. Every party can have a set of moderates and hawks, however its important to reign in the hawks or they will eat up the party itself.

In its desperation to play the Hindu card BJP might have failed to notice another virtue within its fold – its track of ‘Good Governance’ . Most BJP governments have provided clean and efficient governance. Even in states where its government was ousted due to defections such as Goa and Jharkhand, its earlier performance is remembered fondly.  So too in coalition governments, the BJP ministers normally come out in flying colours. It was also the first one to use BSP – Bijlee, Sadak, Panee (Electricity, Road, Water), issues of everyday concern to win elections in M.P.. Its Golden Quadrilateral road project is still acknowledged as one of the most ambitious infrastructure project of modern India. Its decisive nuclear action has had far reaching implications stretching long beyond their reign. It needs to draw upon all these experiences and consolidate them to appeal to an electorate that is tired of mere identity politics and is looking for real solutions to real problems.  While its earlier claim of ‘a party with a difference’ may have withered off, it should now re-brand itself as the party with governance.  The coming elections in Bihar where its ally Nitish Kumar is attempting to put governance as the central issue, may turn out to be a test case for the entire country whether governance can take on the more emotive issues. If he succeeds, he might become a trend setter. Therein might lie a ray of hope for BJP too.

Strikes are still the weapon of choice for political parties to drive home their point. Yet a look under the hood of a typical strike, fails to reveal anything distinctive or hope inspiring.

The strike date is notified well in advance (so much for spontaneity).  It is then publicised through all means available. Media picks up the announcement and features it prominently, giving it further publicity. At local levels threats and innuendos are used freely to forewarn everyone.  On the day of the strike, hooligans and muscle power is used to force shops & offices to close down. Many though stay away on their own, fearing violence and commotion.  Trains and other modes of transportation are obstructed, with least concern for those caught in the middle. Many a times those in urgent need of hospitalisation are unable to get their, those traveling for work, interview or examination are also made to suffer for no fault of theirs. The more the hardship to the public, the more successful the strike is considered to be. At the end of every strike, supporters always claim that the strike was spontaneous, voluntary & a grand success while the opponents claim it to be a flop show.  No quarters gained, none lost. Net result is loss to the public exchequer and public misery.

Apart from general strikes that are ignited by occasional events, there are the ‘habitual’ strikers. Every year at the start of festive season the municipal workers strike work, the teachers & the non teaching staff go on strike during the admission season, Doctors strike work even when the ICUs are full of critical patients, bankers go on strike just before a long weekend. The intent clearly is to maximise the impact. The apparent success of the strike is again measured by the amount of public hardship.

While it is natural for us to blame the strikers for all the public hardship, the Government is equally to blame. One could understand if occasionally there was an issue that was complicated and could not be solved solved easily, leading to agitation. But strikes have become an integral part of our lives. So much so that first one agitates for constituting pay commission, then agitate if recommendations are not to one’s liking, then on to enforcing its implementation. Once the central Government implements the recommendations, as if on cue, one by one the state Government employees start seeking parity with central employees. On and on the cycle keeps repeating itself. Worst part of the process is that Government frequently goes back on the settlement reached at the end of a strike. There are strikes and agitations to simply get Government to keep its word and sometimes for payment of salary for the previous strike duration.

The frequent agitations are symptoms of a deep malaise in our system. They show that our grievance redressal mechanisms have all collapsed. While the judiciary takes ages to resolve complaints, everyone else is too busy protecting their own vested interests to spare time for problem resolution. Take for example the 3 – 4 PM slot that is normally reserved by bureaucrats to meet public for grievance resolution. Most officials make it a point to be away from office during the time period. Even meeting a public official does not lead to a solution. Things have come to such a pass that even problems referred by the Chief Minister in his Janata Durbar need multiple petitions before they get redressed by the officials down below. Even the courts have to get their judgments implemented by using the ‘contempt’ stick. Officials use every ruse for not implementing decisions that are not to their liking starting with appeals to simply delaying their implementation . Every organ of the state needs to be dragged by the scruff of their neck into doing anything. Often Government becomes the biggest law breaker when it tries to brow beat individuals and smaller groups with its size and power. All this leads to a general environment of non compliance and encourages people to agitate for their just as well as unjust demands . Things can only improve if problems are redressed at appropriate levels and judicial intervention is available in a defined time interval.

Part: 1 2

‘Satyamev Jayate’, being the motto of the country has not stopped Indian politicians from mastering the art of doublespeak. Indian political discourse  is full of stonewalls, falsehoods, propaganda and disinformation.

Political speech in India is caught in a time warp. Reminiscent of the government controlled media days of  ’70s, it continues to be dotted with a unique set of phrases, patronized by the power elite, that are meant to hide more than they reveal. Worse they allow our politicians to lie though their teeth. Indiscriminate, repeated and moronic use of these phrases have beaten them hollow, so much so, that they have now come to mean the exact opposite of their literal meaning.

The coinage of the word ‘doublespeak’ is attributed to George Orwell and his famous novel Nineteen Eighty Four which used the word ‘doublethink’. ‘doublespeak’ means ‘ deliberate disguise, distortion, or reversal of the meaning of words‘. One of the most famous proponents of ‘doublespeak’ ( also called ‘doubletalk’) predating the coinage of the word itself was Dr. Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister. In its present avatar, Indian politicos of all shades have embraced doublespeak with open arms. Such is its command over both the ruling and opposition think tanks, that straight talk has become a shortcut to oblivion for politicians in India. [recall the ordeals of Shahi Tharoor (Congress) and Jaswant Singh (BJP) ] Even mainline media and journalists, who are entrusted with the responsibility of exposing the doublespeak of politicians, choose to play ball with them. Their confrontationist attitude is a thing of the past. Despite mushroom growth in news channels, most find protective niches, aligning themselves with one benefactor or the other, leaving the public to fend for themselves.

Given below are some rich vignettes of doublespeak present in Indian political arena. Help us collate more such examples using the comments section down below or use twitter with #doublespeak hash tag.

• Law will take its own course actually means that it would go round and round forever without ever converging on the issue.
• We will look into the incident actually means that everyone will soon forget it.
• We will not leave the matter alone actually means that the matter will be given a silent burial.
• A commission of inquiry has been instituted to probe the allegations expeditiously actually means that the case will stretch for ever and no action will be taken.
• I have nothing to hide actually means that though there are skeletons in my cupboard, all the investigation agencies are in my pocket.
• My life is an open book actually means that you may need an atomic microscope to read it.
• This is a political conspiracy of my opponents actually means that now that I have been caught with my pants down, I’ve no other recourse but to blame the opposition.
• Guilty will not be spared actually means that they will never be caught.
• Action will be taken if guilt is proved actually means that we will not act unless we are compelled.
• Foreign terrorist group xyz is behind the attack actually means that we have no clue, how to stop this.
• His departure is a deep loss to the country actually means that no one listened to him while he was alive, but we will now pay floral tributes and claim his legacy.
• Our sympathies are with bereaved families actually means that please make do with just our sympathies.
• I announce Rs. xxx as compensation to the victims’ family actually means that whether or not the family gets something, let me derive political mileage as if I am paying from my own pocket.
• Xyz Community has no or less representation in the cabinet actually means that I will not rest till I’m inducted into the cabinet.
• Cabinet is the Prime Ministerial prerogative actually means that it is hostage to the last guy who has a bargaining chip in government formation.
• All options are open actually means that we will go with the highest bidder.

[ Also read a brilliant satire by Ramesh Srivats on the lack of 'real answers' in Indian Politics -  The Alternate Press Conference of .... ]

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It is for not for nothing that Nitish Kumar was called ‘Chanankya’ of undivided Janta Dal in the early ’90s. In his present avatar too, he has mixed up a fair dose of realpolitik with his developmental plank. From the very beginning of his term he strategically targeted the vote banks of his two chief opponents in the state – Lalu Yadav (RJD) & Ramvilas Paswan (LJP).

He began by assiduously wooing the Muslim Community to break the Muslim-Yadav (MY) axis of Lalu Yadav. Apart from symbolic gestures of admitting a large number of Muslim Leaders to his party (JDU), attending Muslim festivities, drafting a Muslim bureaucrat for the critical Home Secretary position ( rarity for a BJP ruled/partnered state) etc., he also has also launched several schemes for the Muslim community (such as ‘Hunar’) and recruited ‘urdu’ teachers in bulk . He took credit for finally convicting the main accused of Bhagalpur riots of 1989 and distributing relief to its victims on the lines of Delhi 1984 Sikh riots. He has cleverly positioned himself as a ‘doer’ versus Lalu who he says, only provided ‘lip service’ to the community. His recent decision of allocating 250 acres of land for establishing a center of Aligarh Muslim University in Bihar too, has been a step in the same direction..

At the same time he also targeted the ‘Dalit’ vote bank of Ramvilas Paswan. He first broke off a large chunk of the community by branding them as ‘Maha-Dalits’ as they had not received the benefits due to them while all their benefits were being cornered by the more well off communities among Dalits. A separate “Mahadalit Vikas Mission‘ was founded under his supervision and a flood of schemes have been launched to directly target succour to this community. To add injury to salt, he has slowly expanded the ambit of ‘Mahadalits’ leaving only the ‘Paswans’ in the dalit community. This move has been greatly resented by Ramvilas Paswan who has seen his electoral fortunes dwindle.

He has even tried to neutralize Congress with his demand for a special state status for Bihar. He strategically voiced this demand just before the declaration of the results of General Parliamentary Elections, at the time when Congress was fishing for more allies. The Congress was initially sympathetic but backtracked later after they were able to cobble up a comfortable majority on their own. Nitish now periodically uses this demand as a stick to beat Congress apart from his usual lament of insufficient central assistance. He has not even spared his partners in the government – BJP. Starting off as junior partners with BJP in the undivided Bihar, he has slowly pushed them to a corner and assumed the role of big brother in the state. He also asserts his authority clearly in matters of protecting his secular credentials such as the recent land allocation to AMU.

Internally he has moved swiftly against detractors in his own party. Early dissenters like Upendra Kumar Kushwaha were promptly shown the door. ( He has recently rejoined Nitish after unsuccessfully trying his luck with NCP for past 4 years). Even the party patriarch, George Fernandis who was also the convener of NDA, was kept at bay. Fernandis was denied a Loksabha ticket on grounds of ill health, though he was later accommodated in the Rajya Sabha. Other detractors such Nagmani were thrown out or the ones like Prabhunath Singh were neutralised through election defeat.

However despite all his brilliant strategies, Nitish received a body blow in the last bye-election for 18 assembly seats in September 2009. He along with BJP could only manage to win 5 setas whereas RJD+LJP won 9 and Congress 2. This has exposed his razor thin lead in the deeply divided caste equations of Bihar. While the marginalisation of Ramvilas Paswan has pushed him firmly into the Lalu camp, the rejuvenation of Congress nationally and the decline of BJP (his partner in the state) together have the potential of stinging him badly in the next assembly elections slated for late 2010. Only saving grace for him is that there is still another year to go and if he heeds to the warning signals of the recent bye-election defeat, he can still re-work the magic next year.

Part: 1 2 3 4 5

Note: This is the first part of a multi part series on Nitish Kumar and his efforts to build a New Bihar.

When Mayawati became Chief Minster of U.P. for the first time, she shook up the entire bureaucracy and police by shifting more than 150 officers in one day. When Lalu became CM, he soon landed up at the Patna Medical College Hospital with the media in tow, to inspect whether Doctors were attending duty properly. He publicly rebuked those who were found derelict. He did the same when he became the Central Railway Minister, by ordering the office gates to be locked after the scheduled time so that the habitual late-comers could not get in. Yet, when Nitish Kumar became CM of Bihar in November 2005, after 15 long years of Lalu-Rabri rule, there was hardly a flutter.

Save one or two key bureaucratic changes, there were hardly any changes anywhere. So much so that even the official residence of Chief Minster, 1 Anne Marg, continued to adorn the outgoing Chief Minister, Rabri Devi more than two months after he was sworn in. People started to wonder what, if any, were the changes. Nitish Kumar went to work with practically the same bureaucratic and executive team as his predecessor. Sure there were reshuffles later on but the pace was unremarkable. He started off by conducting long meetings with the senior bureaucrats that routinely went on till late nights. The bureaucracy was rattled a bit but not too much thinking that the initial enthusiasm will soon run out of steam. They were, however, in for a rude shock. Nitish was digging his heels for a long seize, not a guerrilla war. Assiduously he went to work to put the state back on track, bit by bit.

One of the first challenges was to stabilize law and order situation. However here too, those who were looking for some high profile, quick fix solutions, were disappointed. In fact the first full year barely saw any change. High profile kidnappings and murders continued to rattle the state. Nitish came in for criticism for his pre-election claim that he will fix law & order within three months.  Change however, started to become visible later after a few cases were cracked by the Police and the accused were charge sheeted promptly. Another significant change appeared in the form of unshackling of several upright senior Police Officers who had been completely sidelined during the Lalu Rabri era.

Another turning point was the gusto with which the state embraced the centrally sponsored Fast Track Court scheme. More and cases were transfered to the FTC especially those belonging to high profile criminal politicians ( even those from his own JDU Party) . Suddenly things started to look up after the conviction rates started to inch up. In the past two years 2006 – 2008, more than 26000 convictions have taken place. Several dreaded political criminals have been awarded capital punishment and lesser sentences. Today, even thogh the law & order situation may not be ideal, but at least it has turned a corner . A clear proof of this is that Bihar has already ceded its monopoly over prime time television news to a lot of other states. No news is indeed good news.

Part: 1 2 3 4 5

Note: This is the concluding part of the three part series on Next Generation Electoral Reforms (other two –   Intership for MPs & MLAs , Inner Party Democracy) .

Indian Electoral System today is at a point of inflection. What started in early ’90s as a  lone struggle by a maverick (T. N. Seshan) to cleanse the cesspool of Indian Elections, has now transformed into a well oiled election machinery that has won acclaims for the  successful conduct of several difficult electoral battles. Indian Elections are unique because of the number of people that vote, the varied geography it covers as well as the specter of violence that hangs around them. The real game changer has been the speedy roll out of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). From trial runs to all EVM Elections, they have even caught the fancy of the world community.  The somewhat checkered implementation of the Voter ID Cards, and the mandatory affidavits by candidates have  also contributed to the credibility of Indian Elections.  But where do we go from here?

To be sure, there are still problems galore. There is the problem of increased Naxalite insurgency and the violence inflicted by them during elections. Beside that the role of money power too has come in for sharp focus. Around 300 present MPs are known to be Crorepatis, giving rise to the feeling that in near future, being a millionaire might become a pre-requisite for the job.  However the most serious problem of them all is the twin issue of increasing Criminalisation of Politics and the lack of good people joining politics.  Both these are essentially two sides of the same coin.

For our democracy to enter the next level of maturity, we need to usher in a new generation of Electoral Reforms. It is customary in the election season to run campaigns for increased voter turnout. There have been other ideas that have come to fore such as public funding of Elections, option to reject all candidates, provisions for recall of candidates etc. However many of these ideas can only take us thus far. Increased voter turnout will only have an impact if there is a wide choice of good candidates and detailed information about their performance is available. Even though public funding is being touted as a solution to the rising influence of money power, it may end up becoming up another channel for large scale waste of public money.

The problem of the criminalisation of politics needs to be tackled head on. We have for too long, dithered on the premise that any law to debar under trial criminals before they are finally convicted by the highest court, will open the door for falsely implicating innocent persons and will be against the laws of natural justice . However such arguments have become fallacious after more and more MPs & MLAs are being convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape & sedition. We need to bite the bullet now and make the law applicable to criminals convicted of serious crimes by any court of law. Once convicted they should not be allowed to contest even if their appeal is pending in a higher court, till the time their conviction is annulled by a competent court. Besides this ‘Fast Courts’ should be mandatory in case of MPs & MLAs being accused.

The problems facing our nation are serious and the rapid degeneration in the quality of our MPs and MLAs will reverse whatever progress we have made in the past decades. An intense debate on Next Generation Electoral Reforms is the need of the hour and the denizens of Social Media Network should take a lead in this direction. These discussions will hopefully throw up some ideas that will help shape a new dawn.

Note: This is the second part of the three part series on Next Generation Electoral Reforms (other two –   Intership for MPs & MLAs , MP – M for Muder, P for Politcs ) .

One look at the leadership of various political parties in India, will confirm that our democracy is only skin deep. While the leaders give customary lip service to democracy, their autocratic streak is all too evident in their dealings within their own political parties. Not only do they shamelessly promote their kith and kins, they run their parties as personal fiefdoms. They also prevent free voicing of opinions. Any contrarian voice against the ruling clique even at ‘Inner Party Fora’ leads to swift expulsion. Even though it is now established, that dissent is the true essence of democracy, no political party in India, without exception, provides any space for dissent. How can such a situation be conducive to the growth and prosperity of democratic values in our polity?

Not too long ago, Government formation at the Center was held hostage to the the equitable distribution of power within the progeny of Karunanidhi from his three marriages. Alas! he did not command the numerical strength to justify a cabinet birth for each of his sons/daughters/grand nephews, but he gave the Congress negotiators a tough time anyway. The recent clamour in Andhra Pradesh for anointing the political novice son of the late Chief Minister as the next CM, is symptomatic of the same problem. Indian political history is replete with instances of dynastic successions. Led by the redoubtable Nehru-Indira Gandhi-Rajeev-Sonia-Rahul, off late this virus has been contracted by practically every state  satrap be it Lalu-Rabri & Paswans in Bihar, Patnayaks in Orissa, Badals in Punjab, Abdullahs & Sayeeds in J&K, Pawars & Thakerays in Maharashtra, Goudas in Karnataka, Mulayam clan in U.P., Karunanidhi clan in TN etc. . The examples are endless on both sides of the divide. The oft repeated, specious argument that one should not object to politician’s son being a politician when there is no objection to a doctor’ son becoming doctor, engineer’s son being engineer etc., does not hold much water. The objections are not just based on the sons/daughters/nephews/wives joining politics but more importantly on the complete absence of any due process and the walkover awarded to these star politicians. It is almost akin to a business or a monarchical succession. Obviously it is at the cost of other more deserving leaders and it discourages those without such affiliations to enter politics.

Even otherwise, nomination of candidates for elections by Political parties is done without any tranparent due process. It is subject to the whims of the ruling clique. In some cases, sale of party tickets to the highest bidder has also come to light. It may seem like an internal matter of the respective political party, but it has an important bearing on the quality of choice (or lack of it) available to the electorate. Hence this process to needs to be brought under public scrutiny. We need to devise a model where party members duly elect their candidates for each constituency after following a due process.

Party system is an integral part of parliamentary democracy. It plays a crucial role in deciding not just the candidates but also the ‘party line’ on critical issues. This ‘party line’  is then enforced in the legislatures using the anti-defection bill, if required. Normally the political satrap’s whim becomes the will of the people. Hence political parties can not be left soley to the discretion of the  their leaders alone. They needs to be more tightly regulated by an outside agency. While the election commission mandates timely election of party functionaries, in most cases it is a mere formality. Active electioneering is discouraged and a consensus is concocted to keep the status quo going.

Inner party democracy will add more depth and meaning to our democracy. It will also have a direct impact on the kind of people joining politcs and a bearing on the choice available to the elecotorate.