Democracy on sale

Vimal Sumbly
The democracy is on the decline. While the system is yet to come out with a solution to grapple with the problem of paid news, another scourge has stuck the system with the ‘paid’ voting as votes are bought and sold openly without any inhibition. So much so the active players in the process publicly claim that there is no better investment than “buying” the elections as one time investment ensures long term returns and manifold at that, besides power being the bonus.
The recent byelection in Moga was just an extension of a process started in Punjab by a particular political party sometime ago. At certain places a single vote was purchased for Rs 10,000.
While the practice of “paid news” introduced a few years ago is a blot on the democracy particularly on the sacred tenets of the “freedom of expression”, the trading of votes is more dangerous and deadly than that for the democracy. By way of “paid news” the voters can only be influenced to a limited extent, nevertheless stealthily, in the process of paid voting, the votes are directly purchased, thus leaving the field open for the highest bidder as whosoever pays the highest money gets the votes. This practice will undermine the very concept of democracy. The democracy will be replaced by the plutocracy if it already has not.
Despite the Election Commission of India’s strict guidelines about limiting the election expenses, massive amount of money is spent on election. The ECI puts a limit of Rs 16 lakh expenditure for assembly election and Rs 40 lakhs for the parliament. These figures look highly unrealistic in practical terms. In a state like Punjab, a candidate contesting an assembly election is believed to spend a minimum of Rs 5 crore and in certain cases where stakes are high, some candidates are said to have spent as much as Rs 30 crores each!
Same is with the parliamentary elections. On an average, each parliamentary election (per constituency) is believed to cost around Rs 20 crores. It may be little less for some constituencies and more for others. After the practice of buying votes in cash started, the figures have shot up.
Earlier the practice of “indirect purchase” of votes was prevalent mainly in Tamil Nadu where the political parties distributed saris, bicycles, or household goods. In Punjab, a particular political party started “direct purchase” of votes in addition to the indirect one. Besides, liquor and gifts including television sets, refrigerators and motorcycles, now there is a premium paid on each and every vote among certain sections of the society who live hand to mouth and the price of a vote varies from Rs 1000 to Rs 10,000 depending on the stakes.
Such practices need to be nipped in the bud, only if these have not already sprouted and spiralled out of control. The democracy will be at the mercy of the rich and moneyed and anybody selling his vote, and votes are sold out publicly now, hardly bothers about the source of the money of the buyer of his/her vote.
The day will not be far when the big dons, criminals and gangsters with huge money may one fine morning decide to “buy their way to the assembly or parliament”. Beware of the day when this possibility turns into a reality; a reality that will be very difficult for any political party, including the one which has introduced this dirty practice, to confront. This practice is certain to create a frankenstein that is going to turn on his own creator.
It will be no different from the practice of using criminals during elections in the past and once they decided to contest themselves, those grooming, promoting and using them had to run for the shelter. Earlier it was the criminals and now it is the money power. Both are dangerous and deadly for democracy and sooner we realise it the better it would be for everybody. For short term gains let us not put the democracy at stake and for sale.
(The writer is the Consultant to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India)

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