IS ELECTIONEERING only about garrulousness and gimmickry? Perforce one is subjected to media frenzy over antics of politicians. Taking centre stage once every five years the garrulous species having sharpened their claws, honed their insolently obdurate personalities with well oiled platitudes and winning comments, they awaken each morning presumably armed to their teeth with practised machinations eagerly awaiting the glare of lights and whizz of a camera, while we the susceptible, confused, vulnerable often cynical audience watch on… (hopefully) unmoved.
Do these ineluctable, drama prone gentlemen/women often fatuous in their assertions speciously believe that we the present ‘mai baap’ of these mendicants are actually open to conversions, skipping loyalties from one party to another, simply because the new candidate has a winsome approach, clever script and inherent capability to demolish his opposition? If they do, then all one can say complete glee is ‘Gimme a break”! There has to be more than transparent game playing that will woo the resurgent middle class out of their homes and into voting booths.
The Varun Gandhi vs Sonia Gandhi and family circus is best left alone. Without taking sides one wishes to indolently ignore the conspicuous modus operandi at play. It has made gainful indents in every media channel. Surely a blog can be free of such jejune schemes.
Which brings us to this new breed/class/party of electioneers (?)...the Independent candidate. Suddenly a mushrooming of this genre seems to be materialising out of the wood work. One was subjected to a debate yesterday where a couple of these so called ‘candidates of ‘greater good as opposed to lesser evil’ exposed themselves to the viewing/voting public.
All they appeared to me was a bunch of erudite, perhaps more intelligent, educated, clever but not smarter version of our very own neta sans his topi. C’mon, who are they fooling? Greater good my foot! What seemed incredulously in place was a well rehearsed, auto didactical approach, replete with uttering of intransigent if not paroxysmal outbursts to woo even the most cynical of minds.
En masse the studio audience seemed to have adopted the ‘hope’ peddled by these candidates. It was pathetic really. How much on the brink of hopelessness we Indians are presently was so apparent at this impulsive embracing of do gooders, risen from the ranks with what they stridently and unapologetically proclaim was their philanthropic ideation that led them into the fray! Ha! One wished to tap them ever so lightly and whisper “Friend, good intentions aren’t marketed, but executed’!
Those whose single claim to getting our vote was that their inner’ Bharatiya desh vaasi’ sentiments were alive then they need to be reminded that seems 99 per cent of Indians today felt the same!! How were they any different? Just that they had the gumption and gall to come out an openly declare their moral high ground? Ah Ah.. Not convincing one bit!!
Let’s get real. Successfully bringing about change in a corrupt system is not about Independent candidature, standing for elections, dividing the vote! It is about having a plan of action ready to compete with opposing forces. I for one am not the least hopeful of anything but anarchy coming about with these sporadic explosions of middle class intelligentsia. What I find acutely lacking is worldliness and acumen! In large doses!
You have to be one to change one. Infiltrating the system through their very own corridors is my idea of a slow but steady change. A vigilant, unbiased, incorrupt media, blithely vocal populace, and an accountable politician will be the seed that nurtures a healthy democracy. These one off budding politicians, roan like, perhaps waiting to jump on to the BJP? Congress/SP bandwagon at the first opportunity will if anything shamefully exposes the asinine facet of people power, power which can move mountains but also fizzle out like a wet firecracker if handled in an immature manner.
