Funds and elections
In one way, the Opposition cannot blame electoral bonds, if, by any chance, donors favour the ruling party. It could work the other way too. Having said this, electoral bonds are no solution to the unholy role of money power in elections. In this, all parties should account for the money they receive from every corner. Thus, the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a plea against the sale of the bonds is welcome (Page 1, March 19). Unfortunately, Indian political parties are unwilling to come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act. Again, if political parties are sincere about free and fair elections and if they admit that there are many election-associated issues which need reforms, they should try to focus on people’s aspirations in an honest manner. The weakness of the system, right from demarcation of constituencies to ministry formation and governance, emanates from corrupt politics. Discretionary power of the voter is only an insignificant part of the whole. Even there, there happens to be criminal intervention, often by politicians and political parties. Parliament should go in for comprehensive changes, with the ‘50%+1’ rule and the ‘right to recall’ provision as top priority. Serious public debate is the need of the hour.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala
The misuse of money power has been the bane of our elections. But the Supreme Court order in 2019 on receipt of funds through these bonds did not really serve any purpose since the salient point was whether the information is being made public for democratic scrutiny to ensure transparency, and not about who holds the information in a sealed cover. It is hoped the Court will eventually strike down the scheme.
S.S. Paul,
Chakdaha, Nadia, West Bengal
The Kerala voter
Historically, the State of Kerala has never voted for any Front, either the Left Democratic Front or the United Democratic Front, to rule the State in succession. Yet, pre-poll surveys held recently project a second successive term for the Left Democratic Front. It was true the gold smuggling scandal appeared to overwhelm the ruling regime. But when the political undertones of the probes became evident and the emotive Sabarimala women-entry row waned, the advantage gained by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party vanished. The Congress-led United Democratic Front needs to resurrect the conditions that existed during the 2019 Lok Sabha election to turn the tide in its favour. That seems a tall order.
The Bharatiya Janata Party cannot capture power with the support of the polarised Hindu votes alone. And virulent advocacy of Hindutva, aimed at polarisation for electoral gains, is not encouraged in the State either.
Haridasan Rajan,
Kozhikode, Kerala
