Close your eyes

On election day in Lucknow or Noida,here is what would happen: voters would come out in droves to gawp at the imposing Mayawati statues and scores of marble elephants,march to polling stations in an unthinking herd and vote for the BSP. That is,at least,the nightmare of the Election Commission. It has ordered that the statues of Mayawati and her election symbol,the elephant,installed at government expense across UP,be draped till the elections are over.

Images are important and Mayawati has understood how they could stand as enduring symbols of a political legacy and you can have a different argument about spending public money on such self-aggrandisement projects of the BSP and others. But here the ECs order belittles the electorates intelligence in identifying,distinguishing and engaging with images an elephant on the EVM and a statue in the park on their own terms rather than be mindlessly swayed by them. The ECs cause is,of course,above board: to create a level playing field for all parties. But in an image-saturated,24215;7 cycle of news,even a wrapped elephant has political significance. Another thought: what all would it seek to drape in a country with a bewildering array of election symbols the Congresss hand,the BJPs lotus,the SPs bicycle? The EC has said it would also cover statues of Congress leaders like Rajiv Gandhi but what about the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology and the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi,both at Rae Bareli? Should the signboards be painted over?

The election symbol is meant to facilitate the polling process,to enable those who cannot read the candidates names,make their choice. The formidable work done by the EC to ensure a free and fair poll process is reinforced by the sagacity of the aam voter. It should try to trust her intelligence.