Pappubhai, MP

The people of Madhepura did not just vote Pappu Yadav in as MP, they celebrated him. Each one of of the 3,65,948 votes he received testified to the porosity of the border demarcating crime from politics. Pappu Yadav would have won in any case because he had the personal endorsement of Laloo Prasad Yadav. If Laloo ruled that a lamp post stands as the official RJD candidate, chances are it would have romped home victorious. But the moot point here is that Pappu Yadav8217;s criminal background 8212; he stands accused of having murdered a CPM MLA, and he was contesting these elections from Patna8217;s Beur Jail 8212; does not appear to have dented his electoral appeal.

To the contrary, in fact. There is proof that with every passing election, the phenomenon of criminals-as-politicians 8212; far from causing mass revulsion and hostility 8212; is getting 8220;routine-ised8221;, and not just in Laloo8217;s Bihar. The rise and rise of 8220;Daddy8221; Arun Gawli in Mumbai, the enduring popularity of convicts like Pappu Kalani and Hitendra Thakur 8212; the last two having notched four terms each in Maharashtra8217;s Mantralaya 8212; testify to the same trend. In the process, political space is being created for others with similar backgrounds to try their luck at the hustings. The mafia which had been satisfied with attempting to control the decision makers from outside the political arena are now comfortably accommodating themselves within it. An unspoken pact between the mafia don and the voter allows one to enlarge his/her sphere of influence through the direct exercise of power, and the other to leverage the 8220;multiplier force8221; of criminal intimidation to better their own lives in small but significant ways. Gawli won hearts and minds by the simple expedient of circumventing the normal, cumbersome procedures and repairing a wall here or installing a bathroom there in that heart of darkness that8217;s a Chinchpokhli slum. For people marooned in a sea of official apathy, he and those like him, represent a welcome lifeline.

Addressing this trend, then, would require something more than mouthing pieties or arresting the functioning of Parliament with hypocritical campaigns on 8220;tainted ministers8221;. No political entity is immune from the taint. It would need political parties and politicians to come together and evolve joint strategies aimed at keeping the criminal out of politics in a consistent and concerted fashion. Above all, it would need politicians who value their integrity and credibility to actually do the job they are required to do. If they don8217;t deliver on governance, a Pappu Yadav or an Arun Gawli will.