Opinion The 18th Lok Sabha is not just 543 MPs. It’s also we, the people

For a mandate that is so nuanced, that carries within it so many messages, listening is more important than ever. Being good will help MPs be aware of the fact that people are not votes, but individuals with hopes.

543 MPs represent all in their constituency, not just those who voted for them

On the floor of the House, listen, listen, listen. When we genuinely listen, there is a deep sense of empathy. Shouting may be needed at times, but shouting someone down is not just impolite, it denies people the space and time to listen to themselves.

Nanditesh Nilay

June 27, 2024 06:03 PM IST First published on: Jun 27, 2024 at 07:45 AM IST

The election campaign is over and the 18th Lok Sabha is underway, The voters have gone back to being citizens and hope that Mandate 2024 will elevate their trust in the parliamentary form of democracy. How should this translate onto the floor of the House? Here are some notes for our newly elected MPs.

One, cease fire, the battles are over. Don’t belittle your rival. You have won the vote, now you don’t need to prove that you are more electable than anybody else. The philosopher Max Scheler wrote that communication constitutes both the individual as well as the social person. In other words, how you communicate with the other defines you, too. The seat you occupy may have been bitterly contested, but it is a rare privilege. You are one of 543 MPs who represent the world’s largest democracy of 1.4 billion. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on the sidelines of the G7 meetings, India’s elections have a lesson for democracy all over the world.

Two, listen to those who may not have voted for you, you are their representative too. In all the excitement over tallies and margins, not often does the winner look at the number of votes that he or she didn’t get and try to understand that each voter is a fully aware citizen and casting their vote is making a statement. That statement needs to be understood. A Lok Sabha MP is always an MP of Party A or Party B, but they are the representatives of all the people in that constituency, not just those who voted for them. In short, a good MP is a good leader who knows how to read the silence of the aam aadmi and the aam aurat.

Three, campaigns make for good speeches, but how do you remain good as a communicator post-election? Only if the self gives space to the human values of promise, trust, care and courage. Promise prepares the MP to weigh the responsibility of their words. Trust is when the MP acts on the promises made and if they can’t, comes clean with the people. Care and courage flow from the realisation that the mandate is a responsibility, not a privilege or an entitlement. Care is a reminder that directly or indirectly, someone can depend on you.

Four, there is a lot of talk about the Constitution as MPs wave copies and flag the need to protect it. The Constitution doesn’t belong to Party A or Party B, it is a set of principles that rise above party lines, that are the beating heart of the Republic. It has laid down our rights, it has drawn the lines around those in power, it empowers those on the margins, it is our promise to each other that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, who we pray to, what is constitutional will always be yours. Respecting Mandate 2024 means swearing to uphold every letter and the spirit of the Constitution. The Constitution cannot be a book to hide behind or use as a weapon to beat anyone with. It is the text that binds us all.

Five, on the floor of the House, listen, listen, listen. When we genuinely listen, there is a deep sense of empathy. Shouting may be needed at times, but shouting someone down is not just impolite, it denies people the space and time to listen to themselves. When the nation watches Parliament sessions, every citizen wants to hear their representative — and the other’s representative too. In a democracy, that’s their sacred right and that’s why they have participated in the seven-phase elections, braving the elements and their own adversities. Listening is what makes us look beyond the My and the I.

And especially for a mandate that is so nuanced, that carries within it so many messages, listening is more important than ever. In the end, all five things add up to one: Being good. Goodness empowers both the speaker and the receiver. It will help MPs be aware of the fact that people are not votes, people are not winning percentages, but individuals with hopes, aspirations and fears, members of families. They are parents, siblings, someone’s children, colleagues at work, neighbours in the building, fellow passengers on a journey. They are you and me and us — and that’s why the 18th Lok Sabha is not just 543 MPs, it’s also we, the people.

The writer is the author of Being Good, Aaiye, Insaan Banen and Ethikos. He teaches and trains courses on ethics, values and behaviour