Democracy walks cliff-edge among masses

The people have developed a contempt for elections. says Professor Priwardan Patel of the M S University8217;s Political Science department.

So has parliamentary democracy lost its body and soul in the 8220;world8217;s largest democracy8221;? Has it finally succeeded in alienating the teeming masses? Is it a point of no return? There are questions and questions. Only answers appear to be missing.

Or are they?
8220;Hold elections whenever you want, just don8217;t say you8217;re doing it for our sake8221;, said Raghav, a fruitseller in the city8217;s Nyaya Mandir area. No one buys those tall promises any more, he added.

This utter disillusionment and deep-seated cynicism with regard to elections in particular, and democracy in general, among the 8220;masses8221; has to be seen to be believed. No one, save a stray voice or three, among those Express Newsline spoke to said they would actually vote.

8220;Kiske liye vote dena?8221; is the common question asked. And the common man is not concerned with the paucity of worthy candidates, though that could be a valid objection; it8217;s more to do with a deep-set frustration with the failure of the polity to deliver. 8220;What have they done for our lot?8221; asked a peanut-seller in the city. 8220;We may not read the papers, but we know what all these leaders promise. I voted in the last elections. I will not do so this time. It won8217;t change anything.8221; The anger is justified, but what about the effect? Raghav apparently doesn8217;t care either way. What this class wants is concrete, material change. Not just promises and farces.

8220;Nehin dengey vote. Kantala ho jaatey hai,8221; said a member of the M S University staff, withholding his name for obvious reasons. 8220;Whoever comes, it8217;s the same for us. Wohi politics, wohi baatein8230; No one is fit to form the government. They leaders move in airplanes, we have to pay for it,8221; his colleague chipped in. 8220;Let8217;s take simple issues. You have to pay three rupees per unit for electricity here. In Mumbai you will get that for one rupee. If the Maharashtra government can sell it for one rupee why can8217;t the Gujarat government do the same?8221;

So, when you take away all the cynicism and heartburn, are there any issues that the lower-middle-class wishes to be addressed? 8220;Jaao saheb, those are for educated people. Nothing will change with voting,8221; said Veeral, a helper in a run-down city restaurant.

Whose election is it, anyway?