Wishful thinking for end to election-money morass
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: September 21, 2021 -

SOME seasoned as well as rookie candidates speaking out against use of money and muscle power during elections, or expressing concern over the five-yearly democratic exercise making the young voters vulnerable to substance abuse sum up the perilous facets of the process to enrich the much-revered Indian democracy.

Even if the candidates' clarion call given to the electors to exercise their franchise rights in a judicious manner is in sync with the public's yearning to cleanse the system of electoral politics and ensure election of only the righteous candidates, materialisation of the common goal is not-foreseeable, at-least in the immediate future in Manipur.

With exception to stray incidents of armed miscreants barring voters from casting votes in some parts of the hill areas, the use of muscle power during elections in the state has not been a major issue or impactful.

However, the same cannot be commented assertively with regard to the cash splurge by wealthy candidates influencing the general voters.

While electors in the upper strata of the society are unlikely to think it wise from exchanging their votes for a few sum of money, the lure of money would be hard to resist by the common folks with irregular source of income in case the amount offered exceeds his/her daily wage.

It's also a fact that the high percentage of votes cast in every election held in the state has little to do with the general population's enthusiasm to be a part of the democratic exercise but for other reasons, not mentionable sans hard evidence.

Nevertheless, it is no secret that almost all the contestants are suave enough with how the system works and are familiar with the most secretive means to sway the voters.

Politicians make it a point to have their own elements and mechanisms to both deceive the election conducting authorities and to bring the voters on their side.

There is a reason why candidates spend clandestinely and sometimes adopt strategies to enhance the 'winnability' factor regardless of such tactics undermining the true democratic relationship between candidates and the public whom they seek to represent.

It is also well known that election funding is a murky affair with political parties or individual candidates amassing and stocking huge wealth, mostly unaccounted for and from unknown sources through dubious means, for utilisation especially during elections.

Up to now, there are no reliabJe estimates of the quantum of funds collected on behalf of parties or candidates, or the amount of money that goes into the electoral process.

Regardless of the candidates being the major culprits and beneficiaries of this corrosive practice they wouldn't hesitate from decrying the evils besieging the system from every possible pulpit.

Funding from unaccounted sources or use of ill-earned money in elections has been the root cause of corruption and generation of black money within the system, which no mandated investigative institutions had been successful to effectively curb under the current political culture, administrative structure and legal framework.

As corruption and use of money power are considered inseparable twins in the state, it would be only wishing thinking that there would be any dramatic systematic change for the better anytime soon.