DailyPost 2907
THE FUTILITY OF ELECTIONS
Without getting into the nitty gritty of democracy, its institutions, checks and balances and all that it professes and intends to achieve, as aptly enumerated in the preamble, elections are primordial to democratic existence. Without any exaggeration it can be said that no elections means no democracy. If election is the final crop of democracy, what is the harvest? The elected representatives. Elections are all pervasive and at all levels, from the village panchayat to the Lok Sabha; direct, indirect, and of different nature and systems of representation. The elected representatives represent the will of the people.
The elected representatives control all levers of power in different avatars in the government, legislature and a variety of other forums, institutions and enterprises, working full time supposedly furtherance of democracy. For their expertise and involvement in law making the less better the better. When they become a part of the government, you have to experience their humility to believe it. A responsive government remains more than a pipe dream even after 75 years of democracy. On the issue of how approachable they are to the common people, there would be any number of crazy interactions stores, which have become a part of the folklore. The only fixed visit to the electors is during the course of the election.
Elections should be treated as a humongous exercise for acquiring talent for different roles an elected representative has to fulfil. I don’t think anybody has looked at elections from this angle. Getting a party ticket shows the power and largesse of the leader. Rest is perfunctory. What about attitude? Elon Musk says that it is the most important attitude of a professional to succeed. What about the presence of this greatest attribute amongst our elected representatives? They are professional parliamentarians and legislators. They are a part of the ‘professional political executive’. They have wide ranging powers and they usurp the ones they don’t have.
While they come from the background of agitations and protests, how much are they aligned to real issues and genuine protests? Political protests and gatherings of such ilk having nothing to do with the people, it is basically a big well oiled gang doing the monkey trick for both a price and reward. Movements finding its roots in genuine concern will not touch by them even by a stick. No elected representative councilor to the MP and the ones rechristened as ministers are anywhere to be seen in the Medicos protest, not in W. Bengal and elsewhere in the country. We did not find any of them in the NEET exam issue. Manipur issue and protests have reached a level where a placard reads, ‘resign all incompetent MLAs’. The farmers agitation was another such watershed moment. What about their stellar role in the wake of Hema Commitee report? Their absence. Involving them today is a curse for any genuine cause, agitation or movement. How do we resurrect this class or can they?
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES HAVE TO BE COMPETENT ENOUGH TO HANDLE THEIR LEGALLY MANDATED TASKS, ELSE ELECTIONS ARE PURPOSELESS?
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.