Before a single vote is cast... where terrorism touches ballotism By Frederick Noronha [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The recent election for the Pale assembly by-election in Goa only confirm a trend we need to be really concerned about. That is, the results to elections in Goa are increasingly being decided upon before even a single vote is cast. This is not new. But as we go along, the signs of this happening brazenly are becoming only more visible. The skillful chess-players of today's political scenario in Goa have learnt to manipulate things well to their advantage. This time, at the Pale constituency bye-elections, it was the Congress that turned out winners. Given the way in which the Congress manipulated people and parties, this was no big surprise. But the main Opposition BJP (which ruled Goa for half a decade without gaining its own clear mandate) has not been far behind. The game, as last week's assembly elections at Pale showed, goes something like this. Study a constituency. Decide on a candidate. Set about dividing the other side. Buy out support. Set up mock candidates who could cut into your opponent's votes. Hey presto, this is now surprise, you can easily get the result you wish. With Congress working hard -- read, manipulate the situation -- to promote those who could cut into the BJP votes, the result of Pale should come as no big surprise. The Congress played on the hurt feelings of an Amonkar, just as the BJP played on the bruised egos of so many dissident Congressmen (or others) who could help them take a step closer to power. Before the BJP gets sanctimonious about this, the party needs to remind itself of its own record. It has done the same, probably worse and with greater impact. Except that the party is smart enough to play its game by stealth, and in a less obvious manner compared to the Congress. You wouldn't even guess that the candidate you're voting for has been promoted to spit the non-BJP vote. BJP leaders have faced charges of filing 'weak' candidates in constituencies where they have had a deal to be struck. In constituencies where the BJP had little chance of itself winning, they have surreptitiously backed candidates who have had the best chance of defeating the Congress nominee. Matanhy Saldanha and Babush Monserrate may fall into some such category. While the candidates who benefitted from such an impetus, have gone on to support the BJP at pay-back time. Isn't this unfair because of the manner in which it dupes the voter? But this is not all. To this unfair manipulation of the voter's choice add the fact that politicians can be easily bought over. Even after the anti-defection law, this has gone on unstopped in Goa. Smaller parties are easy prey. Goa has many of them, low on ideology and conveniently high on opportunism. To any ruling party short of a clear mandate, they present a golden opportunity. If the smaller parties somehow don't match the needed arithmetic, given the right dose of Vitamin M one can convince some MLA to quit his party, resign his seat, and stand for re-election. In the recent past, Goa's governors have themselves played a great deal of politics. The governor has played a veto role in deciding whom should rule Goa, quietly from the Cabo. Is it any wonder that the BJP stayed in power here as long as its party was in control at New Delhi. Or, that the Congress could not be dislodged -- despite the best and repeated efforts by Parrikar and Co. -- as long as it had its own protective cover of New Delhi. Add to this the lack of inner-party democracy within the dominant local parties. When have we known our politicians to get elected for lower posts within the party? I don't mean holding a sham of an election. It's high time that we stopped this 'loyal soldier to the party' arguments, even as we allow a New Delhi-based unaccountable power-base to elect leaders in the Congress. Likewise, the selections of a party like the BJP are equally unaccountable and un-scrutinizable. This was again underlined by the Pale imbroglio. But the list of woes, unfortunately, does not end there. Our politicians have shown their ability to manipulate issues, and also deploy divisionary tactics. Their ability to raise a ruckus over emotive issues -- while ignoring this-worldly concerns that really make a difference -- has only further alienated them from their voter. India's rich and mighty, waking up to fear they themselves suddenly feel after the Bombay terror attacks, have gone around taking the elitist approach of being dismissive towards politicians. What we need is not less politicians, but more accountable politicians. Ones who will not manipulate the electoral process through either scheming or money power. Or both. In fact, what we need is a wider role for the citizen, in times when money power and manipulation is gaining the upper hand. Unfortunately, the terror attack in Mumbai is not just a victory for the militants who held a country to ransom for 61 hours. It was also victory for bigotry, the retreat into further chauvinism, and the use of religious fundamentalism and intolerance to only justify more religious fundamentalism of other shades. As the affluent sections of India gets increasingly paranoid, one can expect rationality to take a back seat in favour of fundamentalism. (Simi Garewal, in a televised discussion, rants about Pakistani flags in the slums. The convergence of communal and class bias is significant here.) In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, two clear trends are emerging to cope with this ugly act. The first two seek to find someone to blame. The other approach is to look at the issue in a deeper manner, ask what allows such acts to turn successful, and realise that simply tightening security is not the solution to this growing problem. Yoginder Sikand, while not mincing words about the role played by dubious fundamentalist groups that claim to speak in the name of Islam, also put it well by pointing to another side of the problem. Says he: "Obviously, therefore, in order to counter the grave threat posed by terror groups such as the Lashkar, the Indian state needs to tackle the menace of Hindutva terror as well, which has now assumed the form of full-blown fascism. Both forms of terrorism feed on each other, and one cannot be tackled without taking on the other as well. Mercifully, and despite the denial of justice to them, the vast majority of the Indian Muslims have refused to fall into the Lashkar's trap." India is in denial about the alienation of its largest majority -- the Muslims -- from the state. But it cannot go far in addressing motives of those men in tee-shirts holding hostages, unless it is honest over such issues. It only goes to show that a blocked political system cannot act as an early-warning system to alert us to coming problems. Do we treat a communal riot, that kills a couple of thousand, as seriously as a terror striking at Colaba? Even class biases show here. Rajdeep Sardessai, the journalist of Goan origin, was quick to acknowledge this. He agreed that Indian television had itself been unfair to the terror victims at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (earlier VT), while all cameras focussed on the luxury hotels. Let's not bluff ourselves. Fighting terror can be more effective when every section of the population gets justice, and doesn't nurse deep-seated grudges that fester badly over time. And this is only possible when we have politicians who are more accountable, and get elected via a process that goes beyond manipulation and skulduggery. ENDS
