PLUCK LOW-HANGING FRUITS FIRST ON CAMPAIGN REFORMS

Brouhaha and bad-mouthing have pushed voter education and political accountability to the periphery. Several measures could be taken to keep elected representatives on their toes

- VINAY SAHASRABUDDHE

THERE was a time not too long ago that a sense of utter contempt, almost bordering on a deep-seated hatred of the political class, used to be visible while citizens voiced their opinions. Jagdeep S Chhokar, IIM professor and founding member of the Association of Democratic Reforms, had once quoted from a letter to the editor after the 1999 general elections, in which the writer said: "Thank god! The verbal cacophony, throwing of abuses and trading of charges by parties with each other is over... What democratic values will this bunch of self-appointed leaders propagate with such narrow-minded approaches? Our democracy ends the day we cast our vote."

Way back in 1981, Krishan Kant, a senior political leader who later became India's vice president, had observed: "While in the 1950s an MP or an MLA was considered a representative of the people, in the 1960s they came to be known as their advocates; and now people think that they elect their dalals, or brokers." Krishan Kant's assessment was echoed by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 using the same term when he denounced the tendency of party workers to function as power brokers.

However, neither Krishan Kant nor Rajiv Gandhi did anything substantial to restore the credibility of politicians. Thanks to the Narendra Modi-led government's performance, popular respect for politicians has been fairly restored. The prime minister established things can be made to work. This has greatly reduced the overall disdain for the political class in general. Such contempt for politics and politicians is detrimental to democracy. Now that the ground situation has changed to a considerable extent, can we expect the quality of electoral campaigns to improve too?