Himachal deserves better

An election campaign has often been cited as the sine qua non of a functioning democracy. Not only does it ensure that the parties contending for power hold themselves to account before the public gaze, it gives the generally disempowered citizen a chance to raise issues and influence outcomes. This, at least, is what a meaningful poll campaign is all about. The exercise currently underway in Himachal Pradesh fails the test quite conclusively and should, in fact, be cited as an example of how electoral campaigns must never be conducted. Much like the layers of snow that are presently blanketing Shimla and its environs, the unending flow of sleaze from the campaign trail has succeeded in burying almost every public concern of consequence.

Surely Himachal deserved better. It may be among the better performing states in north India in terms of human development indices, but it continues to face extremely serious problems, ranging from abysmal healthcare and severe water shortage to raging unemployment which still conspires to keep out-migration levels extremely high. In a state with a difficult terrain, where only 10 per cent of people live in urban clusters, the lack of all-weather, motorable roads is a great handicap. Remember, this was the state that witnessed the first incidence of pneumonic plague to occur anywhere in the world in the 21st century and remember, too, that the average caloric intake in the rural areas of Himachal had registered significant decline. But very little of this has figured in the public sphere in the electoral campaign thus far. It is as if those seeking to represent the people are living and breathing in a universe that is entirely different to that of their voters. So busy are they hurling invective at each other that they cannot perceive how puerile and irrelevant they appear.

In keeping with this new trend of chief ministers-turned-election campaigners, we now have chief ministers from other states doing their bit to stir things up in Himachal. First there was Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, hurling cartloads of mud all around. While the alleged corruption of Himachal’s chief minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal, is certainly an election issue, it should rightly have been raised by his political opponents in the state. The extra-territorial involvement of Amarinder Singh in these polls sets an extremely unhealthy precedent. As for the rhetoric of communal disaffection and personal calumny spewed by the likes of Madan Lal Khurana and Narendra Modi, the less said the better. Finally, it is up to the voters of Himachal to show these interlopers their true place — and that is outside their state. They would do well to remind themselves that people get the governments they deserve and vote with extreme caution when D-Day comes along.