Voters should wake up to save democracy

Once again, Andhra Pradesh politics is mired in controversy over local body elections. Though the State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar had issued proceedings on the elections on Friday and said that "the commission had carefully weighed in the pros and cons, the State government seems to be in no mood to hold the elections and the decision of the Centre to launch Covid-19 vaccination from January 16 has come in handy for the government to refuse the launching of process of local body elections.

It has already moved the High Court and the State Election Commissioner has been going around temples praying to the God that the elections should be held in peaceful manner before his term ends soon. The SEC also issued orders to implement the list of transfers it had recommended. But given the mood of the government, it may not be implemented. On the other hand, acrimonious, vituperative comments are coming from the Ministers and ruling party members.

With the Opposition being weak both at national and State level, verbal accusations and trading charges against each other have increased and the political culture has hit the lowest ebb. Comments by the people in power or those on social media are bereft of decency and decorum.

There seems to be an unhealthy competition among leaders who across the country through their behaviour have let the image of the country go down the drain. One does not find any logic or ideology in what they speak, and politics is becoming more and more indecent.

Added to this, one can see equally vitriolic debates which are no less then street fights. Decent and parliamentary words seem to have been erased from their dictionary. They serve no purpose. At the most, they help in some increase in the TRP of the programme.

The country is moving closer towards chief executive's control over legislature. The single party majority in many States as well the Centre makes it all the more necessary to have an effective Opposition if democracy has to survive. What India needs is a record voter turnout, emotional involvement in campaigns invoking issues related to people and ideologies (not promises which would make people lazy or unproductive).

The candidates should be those who had come from the grass root level and have direct connect even with the average voter. All parties should focus more on bread and butter issues. But unfortunately, at the national level, the Congress is in state of decay and is mired in internal crisis over leadership issue. The situation in the States where regional parties are in power is no different as the major Opposition parties there have been decimated. There is no leader or party which can bring all Opposition parties under one umbrella.

Even if anyone tries, he will not succeed because, no party seems to be willing to join others to take on the government. They refuse to accept that in a democracy with a weak Opposition the ruling party pays no costs for poor performance and ultimately it is the people who suffer.

They also do not seem to be bothered about the systematic way all institutions are losing their power and importance. Unless the sleeping giant called the voter wakes up and says 'No' to money, caste and religion-based politics and makes the netas to come out of their slumber, democracy will just remain a mere slogan.