Votes, notes and prison terms

There is a sympathy vote in this election, too. No cause for alarm. No big leader has been assassinated. Perish the thought.

- R. PRASANNAN

Most of us think sympathy votes come riding on waves of tears shed after assassinations, and that they take the ship of the departed leader's party to the shores of victory. Won't blame you, especially if you are of my age or older. We had the bad luck of voting twice over blood and tears.

The first was in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Her son Rajiv called for early polls which he won with the largest majority ever. A case of tears turning into votes.

In 1991, Rajiv himself was murdered midway through an election. The Congress, which had begun to be marginalised in a 'mandalised' and 'mandirised' India, recovered in the post-assassination rounds of polling. It came up as the single largest party, and formed a minority government. Again, tears had turned into votes.

We Indians vote with the heart, and not with the mind. Passions sway us more than reason. Parties know this; so they seek to rouse fiery passions (BJP style) or evoke softer feelings (Congress style) in our minds.