Running on empty

Never has there been a more vacuous, inane and irrelevant electoral campaign than the one that we, the people, are presently witnessing. What8217;s more, it has acquired a particularly nasty undercurrent, with charges and counter-charges, reeking of the gutter, flying thick and fast. Anything and everything is fair game, it seems, in this battle to get oneself heard, draw a few laughs, and make it to television bulletins. While one camp questions the Prime Minister8217;s integrity without substantiating the charges, the other wants to know what Sonia Gandhi8217;s contribution to this country has been, without as much as pausing to introspect on what their own contribution has been. Little wonder then that the electorate is getting increasingly cynical about these clowns who would be king.

Already, it seems, the promises made in the various manifestos have been forgotten. Remember the BJP and its allies, going by the grand label of National Democratic Alliance, had stated that their 8220;first commitment to the people isto give a stable, honest, transparent and efficient government capable of accomplishing all-round development?8221; How nice. But where, in the welter of words issuing from NDA microphones, is there any evidence that the alliance is serous about this? If Monica Lewinsky has anything to do with malnutrition, the people want to know. If Sonia Gandhi8217;s foreign origins has anything to do with the country8217;s foreign debt, the people want to know. And it8217;s not just the NDA that is devaluing the country8217;s politics in this fashion. The Congress manifesto dutifully parrots a long list of politically correct nostrums. 8220;Equitable development8221;, 8220;social justice8221;, 8220;accountability and economic growth8221;, the list is unending. But how the party hopes to bring these fantasies to life is anybody8217;s guess. Sonia Gandhi8217;s hurriedly delivered speeches certainly provide no hints.

Let these worthies be reminded that real issues of the country go beyond the vicarious thrills afforded by a Kargil 8220;victory8221; or the breast-beatingover government 8220;failure8221; in protecting the borders. They could, perhaps, spare a thought for the 86 million unemployed and underemployed people in this country and of the estimated 7 million that is being added to the list every year. They could pause a while and wonder why, despite the Constitution promising that 8220;no child below the age of the 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory8221;, there are whole armies of children, estimated at anything between 14 million to 100 million, who work for a living in the worst possible conditions in this country. And if these macro-level issues seem too complex, how about addressing the straightforward, local problems 8212; those like dry taps, oozing drains, pot-holed roads, substandard foodgrain 8212; which are the blight of every citizen in this country? Don8217;t elections offer the only opportunity for political leaders to listen to the voices of the people they hope to rule? Where in these elections has any significant political player demonstrated an ability tolisten to voters for a change instead of blabbering on and on? Thus one more General Election goes by, powered by noxious rhetoric, even as people8217;s lives remain completely untouched by the process. What then does the democratic process of choosing leaders amount to? Precious little. Just a few soundbites, signifying nothing.