Is a fair verdict possible when cash and booze rule?

With the polling process in five states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram – in full swing, cash and booze are flowing freely like never before.

According to the Election Commission, Rs 1760 crore worth freebies including drugs, cash, liquor and precious metals have already been seized in these states which were meant for distribution among voters ahead of polling day.

The figure is sure to rise with polling yet to be held in Rajasthan and Telangana.

In fact the overbearing influence cash and other freebies play in polls has become so evident that nowadays, citizens start wondering why freebies have not come their way if political parties are lax in doling out their goodies in time!

This is a pointer to the rot in the political system where merit and dedication to the public cause take the back seat and candidates are evaluated based on their ‘generosity’ and the freebies they hand out to voters.

The deeper the candidate’s pockets, the better his or her prospects of sailing through the hustings without a bother even if their credentials are not as bright and impeccable as they should be. Are free and fair elections possible in such a situation?

Do Independent candidates who are driven by the determination to serve the people, stand a chance of gathering even a few hundred votes against those who brazenly flaunt their money and muscle power and make sure nothing comes in the way of their victorious run?

Political campaigns are no longer a cheap affair and involve the spending of crores of rupees in operating the poll machinery and keeping party workers in good stead.

Fighting an election is no longer something affordable for the common citizen for candidates will have to outdo each other by hiring vehicles and virtually ‘carpet bombing’ the constituency with their publicity material not to mention the many gifts to be sent out.

There have been instances in the past of well-known academics, economists and intellectuals being put up as candidates by parties hoping to gain from their expertise while administering the state but this seems to be hardly happening nowadays.

All that seem to matter to make it up the political ladder are loyalty to the leader who commands clout, the success in getting powerful lobbies to back one’s candidature not to mention the ability to cough up the needed crores to run the campaign.

This growing trend inevitably has its impact on the administrative process too when issues of crucial importance have to be debated in all seriousness in parliament and state legislatures and different points of view have to be reconciled to arrive at an ideal consensus.

Talk of state funding of polls which was recommended by the Indrajit Gupta Committee in 1998, keeps cropping up now and then but there are too many obstacles to be overcome.

Monitoring of fund flows of each candidate is no easy task considering that there are always lobbies working in the shadows to make sure that the candidate who supports their interests emerges victorious.

So it’s finally back to voters and their intuitive ability to see who would genuinely work for them and not turn their back once the polls are over. Finally, a public representative has to be accessible, someone who places the community above self and most all has the instinctive ability to sacrifice for the common good.

And it is when such candidates are elevated to the centre-stage of politics and to leadership roles that we can truly hope for the right policy decisions and a wave of positive change in our lives.