Dance of democracy

India’s democracy at the ripe old age of 69 has finally come of age as a ‘matured polity’ with a new electorate and the largest number of first time voters in history. These elections were different from the earlier ones in many ways. Firstly, there was no burning issue to stir up the masses. There was no effigies being burnt and no party riding the ‘sympathy’ wave. Though Jagdish Tytler, Varun Gandhi and a shoe-tossing Sikh Delhi journalist did try their best to correct this. Alas! Not everyone is successful in inciting strong emotions/reactions in other. Not everyone can do a ‘Sreesanth’ shall we say. (What was his new nickname again?)

That being said, these general elections were also different in the sense that never before have psephologists and amateur political ‘analysts’ (like yours truly) been so utterly wrong in tapping the pulse of the public. During my travels across Indian hinterland prior to the elections there were signs that a surprise was on the cards. But we only realised it when the numbers jumped out of the television screen and slapped us right across the face. This was probably because these ‘experts’ like most stock-market analysts looked to past instead of looking at the present. Trend-lines, historical data, statistical relevance, standard deviation, mean movement and what not? A case was made (and which was more than evident from previous election data) that this was the watershed of two-party politics. Regionalist politics was peaking and now, more than ever, will be when India goes from a Federal union to a union of feudal federations. Reams of paper were spent on analysing how will coalition politics work out? Who will win the race to 272? India had braced herself for a socio-politico-economic khichdi of sorts with confused agendas and perplexing CMPs.

But that did not happen. We did not need Superman to save the day for us. We just relied on our right to franchise. And it was all there; summed up in a couple of hours. Faster than a game of IPL T20, we had the results in front of us before noon on that Saturday morning. I realised something that day. There are only two jobs of the ‘thankless variety’ in India. That of a teacher and of an election volunteers. The EC pulled off elections with an continental-size electorate and did it mostly without incident. Thousands of election volunteers running up and down dusty roads under the blazing noon-sun trying to answer questions of the new ‘Jaago re’ brand of voter who generally would have little regard for the process had it not been made to look cool to vote by the MTV, VH1s and Levis’ of our times.

Such voters (me included) do not realise that one must at least appreciate if not have to earn one’s right to vote. Few millions had died so that you could have your finger inked and escape those judgmental eyes at your workplace the next day. The ‘Jaago Re’ voter sometimes fails to appreciate the work put in by these guys who volunteer at the booths. They could have as well switched on the AC and tuned into ‘ We the people’ and cursed the fate of this country. ‘ This country has gone to the dogs’ would be an oft quoted line in that monologue. Wake up and smell the rotting lack of faith. We are those dogs.

Like I said, these elections would go down in the annals of history as one heralding the (at least as of now) death of regional powers. Though there is no turning back from coalition politics but a non-fractured mandate is something that was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. Do not get me wrong. I am not a Congress man. Hell, I did not even vote for them. Like any party they have their flaws and their fortes. In an increasingly old north and south blocks, it was refreshing to see young, seemingly intelligent, articulate and mostly likeable faces of Rahul and Priyanka.

Rahul for me is more hype than substance. Though well spoken and well mannered, I believe he is a victim of the quintessential romanticizing of the Indian media’s notorious hero worshipping. No man can win a ‘state’ alone. Yet the media cant help itself from catapulting RG to super-stardom. Just like his reluctant father was once pushed into national limelight. Sure, Rahul, like Rajiv might be a very likeable and sharp guy. But he is not THE and is only ONE OF THE messiahs the Congress should turn to at least till he has enough political acumen to warrant credence to his view. Not because he is a Gandhi… but in spite of it.

Priyanka, on the other hand, has been the Congress trump card in these elections. A young(-ish) confident woman who knows (and mostly) believes what she is talking. Her biggest strength is her ability to connect to the common rural voter in a way that her mother never could. The more I see her speak, the more she seems to have the mettle of her grandmother. Quaint mannerisms, measured articulation and tempered vigour make her seem approachable and larger than life almost simultaneously. And it is not that she is living a lie. She is like any other Delhi mom jogging down the street to buy fresh brown bread and stressing about her kids’ exams the next day. Now that is refreshing. We will need more women (and even some men) like Priyanka. People who can call it as they see it. People who can connect with others and do so with dignity and fervour. People who are not afraid to ruffle a few feathers. Perhaps, she was Congress’ most successful candidate and she did not even contest!

These elections were more than just a decision. It was a decisive verdict. Though I believe that it was not for the Congress but against the forces that held it back from doing what it had set out to do in 2004. The voter seems to have thought ‘The PM is a decent man and knows what he is doing. And Moditva is not something that turns me on. Hey, what the heck? Dr Singh… take another shot.’

The Indian voter seems to have put an end to the countless emerging fronts. The left front, the secular front, third front, the fourth front, the fifth front. No wonder my grandfather asked me once “ If there were so many fronts, then who is the ‘behind’ (read ass).” India has cut the opportunists to size. We must all be proud. Godspeed.

Jay Hind!