Open Forum

New Delhi, 27 December 2023

Electoral Politics

GIMMICKS OR REALITY CHECK?

By Dhurjati Mukherjee 

INDIA bloc’s decision to give top priority to seat-sharing for 2024 general elections is in the right direction, but it would do well to have partners share assessment of the electorate’s outlook to plug loopholes and engage with it through a combined strategy. Moreso, as understanding electoral politics is difficult given that calculations go awry as witnessed recently.   

The gimmicks in Indian politics are intriguing. Moreover, as majority of the electorate is uneducated, or half educated and fails to comprehend the real motives of politic parties. Corruption charges against leaders of the ruling dispensation in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, for example did not quite bother the masses. Charisma instead held sway and issues that mattered got relegated to the background.    

Another important factor that needs attention is the propagation of aggressive Hindutva that swayed the masses in favour of the BJP. This despite such an approach being harmful to the social integration and alienation of minorities in the socio-political development. As the CPM editorial in its party organ, People’s Democracy aptly pointed out: “The basic failure of the Congress has been its inability to confront this reality (Hindutva consolidation that has created an ‘over-arching pan-Hindu identity’)”. But it shouldn’t apply to the grand old party alone, bloc partners need to counter it with as much conviction, as lack of education and awareness among the poor, is making them believe in the so-called misrule of Muslim rulers of yesteryears. 

The inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in January 2024, will again impact those who are enamoured with the Hindu ethos. But it can’t be considered as true Hindu religion, in the backdrop of reading the philosophical propositions of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and even later interpreters such as Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Swami Rangathananda etc. The INDIA bloc would need to work around it and reach out to voters.     

At the same time, parties and their leaders would need to stress on grass-root development and not get caught in populist tendencies to attract and win voters’ sentiments. The freebies announced by Congress, had rival BJP doing the same, be it free bus rides or cheaper gas cylinders. There was hardly any promise about reviving the economy and deterioration in conditions of living of the rural poor and the surge in unemployment rates over the years. 

Recall, Congress leader and former Finance Minister Chidambaram recently quoted the PLFS to say that the Workers Population Ratio (WPR), the share of working people in the population, was 46%, including 69% for men and 22% for women. It is estimated that less than 50% of them actually work. The unemployment rates for graduates below 25 years of age are 42% while among the employed, 57% are self-employed, which means that their earnings are low. He also said that rising prices of essential commodities combined with unemployment had affected the purchasing power of the people. As a result, the net financial savings of households reached a historic low of 5.1% in 2022-23. But the message didn’t get to the voters or was unfortunately ignored in the din of freebies coming their way. 

The looming agricultural crisis, acute job scarcity, poor education and health services, lack of rural infrastructure development, dysfunctional cities, broken judicial system and rampant environmental damage to the ecosystem were not areas of concern for the ruling party. No plan was given to address these development deficiencies and widening disparity in the incomes of the rich and the poor, of the urban and rural sectors, of the formal and informal, sectors did not find elaborate mentions in the campaigns of the BJP though the Congress tried to highlight these issues and was obviously unsuccessful. The crux of the matter is that the voters are not able to judge and understand the manipulative techniques of the political parties. 

While religious fundamentalism has been used to brainwash the half-educated and uneducated sections, the clamour that India is set to become the third largest economy, banking on the wealth accumulation of the corporate groups is being highlighted. The ‘excellent’ performance of the country’s economy has been used to win hearts of the educated/elite who are oblivious of India’s backward regions. Various global agencies are painting fantastic pictures of the country’s economic development without considering the incomes of the lowest 25 per cent of the population. Even if the GDP grows at around 6.5% this fiscal, will it lead to perceptible income growth of the lowest 25% of the population?  

India is currently said to be the fifth largest economy with a GDP of $3.7 trillion and the leaders are talking of becoming the third largest economic power by 2030. A vision document prepared by Niti Aayog has shown that India will be a $30 trillion developed economy by 2047 but the document has failed to reveal the income growth of the poor and the economically weaker sections during the last decade or so. This is because there’s been no growth in their incomes. 

A professor at a national conference expressed concern that the rich drive to big hotels passing through slums and shanty settlements but are least bothered to reflect on it. Even the undersigned, who has lectured in many institutes, including government’s, finds that the bureaucracy is least perturbed over the poverty and squalor existing in rural and backward areas and fails to define true development, unless directed to. For it, development is something that benefits the middle-income sections, normally residing in cities and towns. 

Thus, ruling dispensations, aided by the bureaucracy, have not paid the attention that the rural sector or the backward areas deserve. Electoral politics is increasingly getting carved out on gimmicks and false promises which voters hardly remember or fail to question later. Even a major part of the media fails to highlight the challenges and question the government about providing shelter to displaced cyclone victims or potable water in every tribal village.  

Tragically, politic leadership is not all that sincere in its approach towards ensuring welfare and well-being of the silent minority who have to struggle for a living or bereft of the benefits of schemes and programmes announced. If India is really to become a developed country as is being aired time and again, there must be a change in strategy. More attention is needed for rural sector and an action plan formulated for upliftment of the poor or the less privileged in the coming term of office of the new government. INDIA bloc needs to do its homework right. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)