Elections: The Voter's Swayamvara

Some of the fascinating stories in Indian mythology revolve around the weddings of glamorous eligible princesses. A message goes out to kingdoms near and far that the princess is ready to choose her suitor. Eligible suitors from far and near come to woo the princess. A tough competition is prepared to eliminate the ineligible and the weakly motivated. The princess then garlands the victor and the wedding is announced. Should the princess be more rebellious than expected of her, she ignores the results of the competition anyway and chooses her own hero. All in all, a grand finale.

Except, in many cases, the grandeur ends there and then for the princess. Either the following years are a painful process of adjustment and sacrifice, or worse -- that's the last we hear of the princess.

Cut the scene to modern election day platforms. The voter is in the shoes of the princess. The king's message to the kingdoms of the readiness of the princess to wed is the declaration of elections. The competition is the election campaign. Election day is the swayamvara itself. And of course, the grand finale is the announcement of the leading political party with its multiple spouses (read 'voters'). Post election, the voter is not much more than a hapless victim. Some voters choose to remain spinsters, by abstaining from voting. But their situation is no better for the decision. And then there are people like me, who have been placed in the respectable position of not having the right to vote -- because we don't reside on a specified territory of geographical space on this planet called Earth in this vast universe.

Much has been made of democracy being the most advanced form of a political system. In fact, even a science fiction extravaganza like Star Wars touts democracy as the system to fight for in inter-galactic wars. The setting is cosmic, and the story is just a folk-tale of a good king ruling the people happily ever after, with an army of Jedis to beat up the dark forces. Yaawwwn! When are we going to move on?

When are we going to move on from 'In God we trust' to 'In our fellowmen we trust'? When are we ever going to trust? Elections as a progressive form of government have legitimised elected religious governments that proceed to impose citizen restrictions with impudence. They have legitimised elected dictatorships in the name of popular demand. Democracy and elections have been reduced to 'Vote for a face'. For many, it is a swayamvar of the crooks.

Democracy as a political form of government and elections as a representation of people's voice have no meaning unless certain fundamental parameters are set as preconditions to introducing a democratic form of government. Such fundamental parameters should include the right to life, liberty, justice, protection of life and freedom of all forms of expression for starters. Once a fundamental charter is formulated and agreed to in letter and spirit, the process of conducting elections can begin. It is not enough that the voter reaches the polling booth. The vote has no meaning if the polling booth is in reality a facade for the will of the few.