It is the election time again, this time for state looters. Given the current political scenario, the option is to choose better of the worst. But the moment they assume power they start competing for the title “Who is the worst devil?”. Honestly it is disgusting to go to the polling booth thinking “Mera Neta Chor Hai...”
The option 49-O is a cruel reminder that we don't have choice of eligible leaders to choose from. I had cast it in the last election and didn't seem to have much choice this time too. To me 49-O was a way to express my angst against the current political system.
As I went near the polling booth my thoughts changed since 49-O is not going to make any difference to the result. The one with most number of votes is still going to win and my vote is as good as an invalid one. It is like scoring runs in a cricket match but your runs do not stand counted.
That is when I thought about the fringe players, the independent candidates not affiliated to any political parties. Maybe they can breath in fresh air, they are not bogged down by party compulsions. I didn't know much about who was contesting, hence I voted one of them by playing inky-pinky-ponky from the list of independent candidates. As stupid it may sound, I think it was the best decision given the circumstances.
This was an instantaneous decision triggered by the flip a coin theory. The theory states when there is not enough data to justify a decision take one with the flip of a coin. Quoting Seth Godins blog "By refusing to lie to yourself, by not telling yourself a fable to make the decision easier, you'll understand quite clearly when you're winging it".
While the decision was instantaneous it was culmination of the mockery political parties have made of our system. It was a way of showing my finger to all those political parties who spend obscene amount of money on elections and later loot.
But give a thought, are political parties alone to be blamed for this. It is no joke to run a party, it is a complex, complicated and risky business. The amount of resources invested both in terms money and manpower is humongous.
To run such a vast setup they need funds, they need to keep their party members happy with fancy posts, titles, contracts and each one of these element ensures that they are caught in the vicious circle of corruption, favoritism and nepotism.
Neoptism... Now what is wrong with that. How many will give away the ownership of the enterprise created with sweat, blood and tears to some strangers. What do founders of companies do when it comes to passing on the bastion? Isn't it passed on to the kith and kin. In a more professional set up CEO's are appointed to meet the whims and fancies of the shareholders. But in the end who owns the company, relatives, friends and all those with vested interest.
So what is wrong with political parties passing on the ownership rights to wives, sons, daughters, relatives. It is after all cut throat politics and they do need someone on whom they can rely on, Fair right!
Hence democracy to us means Nehru ---> Indra ---> Rajiv---> Sonia---> and it shouldn't be tough to guess who will be next on the list??? This is just a sample, look around and you will find it everywhere.
Unfortunately politics is a game of power hence ownership and control cant be with two different people. Experiments are being made in this area too, with one Mr.Singh as scapegoat.
These parties have invested huge resources in building a brand image ensuring loyal voters irrespective of the candidate or their performance. Someone who has not even spent a full week in a constituency during the last twenty, thirty years can still represent it. Thanks to the solid vote banks. Take a moment and think, how many days have Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha spent in the constituencies they are contesting in during the last 10 years?
There is a glaring need for huge electoral reforms to ensure we are represented by real leaders.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to be silent. And why are the good men silent, because honestly they cant do much. They don't have the resources to take on the financial and muscle power of political parties. There may be exceptions but end result does not vary much.
I think we need a solution that will change the equilibrium of politics and wipes out whatever plagues the current system. A simple but daring solution will be to abolish all political parties, abolish them all. Let there be only independent candidates contesting in election. Voters elect which independent candidate should lead the constituency and who should lead the state.
Before dismissing it as ridiculous, look at the big picture. This means anyone who stands in an election has an equal chance to win purely based on their past performance. It is no more based on the arithmetic's as to which party has how much vote bank or which caste has how much vote bank.
A candidate contesting from a constituency he doesn't belong to, without knowing the issues of the place, without knowing the people, without doing some real good service to the society will stand very little chance to be elected. Contestants cant win an election without any agenda or just with sole agenda to benefit themselves and those around them.
If independent candidates not affiliated to any parties are elected, there is a lesser chance of corruption as there will not be any political backing for their misdeeds. Even if there is corruption, they can not get away as they are no more a herd now. They are individuals who can be singled out and taken to task for their misdeeds. A herd of representatives caught in the web of corruption is what plagues the current system.
If elected representative of a constituency does not perform the head of state can take action and if head of state does not perform elected representatives can take action. Everyone becomes accountable to people who voted. This also means there will not be any opposition party who mindlessly oppose any action of the ruling party because now everyone is part of the government. Stalling of parliament and assembly will be replaced with healthy debates on issues and policies.
Maybe we too will get a chance to elect good leaders and can proudly say “Mera Neta Chor Nahin Hai...” . As with any system this might have its flip side too and may be if more people put their thoughts in we might come up with a better system, a system where we are represented by leaders and not the current class of politicians.
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