Reflections on the Current Political Crisis

• The current spate of sting operations exposing MPs of various parties accepting bribes has made nationwide headlines. To dismiss the problem as one of corruption and to limit our concerns to the MPs caught accepting bribes is taking the escapist’s route, for the issue is much deeper.
  
  
• The whole political system in India is founded on corruption. Crores are spent on elections. Recent estimates suggest that in a 5-year cycle, major political parties and candidates spend about Rs. 10,000 crores on elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Most of these expenses are not legitimate campaign costs but money spent to buy votes, bribe people or hire musclemen.
  
  
• Recently in the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections, (excluding the two largest cities of Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam), the cost of elections was an estimated 500-700 crores. This in a situation when municipalities in Andhra Pradesh are largely titular bodies with very few powers and resources! Kanakapura by-election in Karnataka, held about 2 ½ years ago, cost an estimated 20 crores. That by-election in fact was fought with very few stakes, as the elected member would have had less than 18 months as MP. As luck would have it, the Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely and that tenure was further truncated! More importantly, whoever won, would have been in opposition as both Shri. DK Sivakumar of Congress and Shri. Deve Gowda of Janta Dal (S), were opposed to the that ruling NDA combine. The eventual winner Shri. Deve Gowda was believed to have been outspent by Shri. Shivakumar by a margin of 3:1. Saidapet assembly by-election in Tamil Nadu held about 2 ½ years ago also saw a phenomenal expense of about 5-10 crores.
  
  
• The evidence is clear that large expense does not always guarantee victory. But modest, legitimate expenditure usually ensures defeat. Instead of blaming the politicians alone for this mess, we should look at deeper causes.
  
  
• Our First-Past-The-Post system ensures victory to a candidate who garners more votes than any other rival. That is, the marginal vote a candidate brings to the table is of vital consequence in determining the outcome. As a result there is enormous competitive pressure to obtain the marginal vote, over and above the large chunk of vote the party guarantees. Therefore the candidates with abnormal and unaccounted money power, local caste clout, ability to deploy muscle power and strong family roots in politics have a decisive advantage in mobilizing the marginal vote. Understandably, all major non-left parties are compelled to nominate such candidates in order to maximize their chances of victory.
  
  
• As a result, no matter which candidate or party wins, the parameters of governance remain unaltered. Most of the candidates who win are forced to invest large sums of money to get elected. Such a system is unsustainable unless multiple returns are guaranteed.
  
  
• Not surprisingly, the legislators of the governing party at the state and national level have been making money mostly through transfers, contracts, influence peddling and interference in policing as their parties are in government. Members of opposition are more dependent on questions in legislature, their nuisance value and discretionary grants like MPLADS.
  
  
• Candidates and parties in general are locked into this vicious cycle and they are often as much helpless victims of an inexorable process as they are willing accomplices perpetuating a corrupt and dysfunctional system.
  
  
• The answers therefore lie in two broad directions:
  1) Importance of the marginal vote must be eliminated
  2) The legislator’s ability to influence discretionary executive decision on a day-to-day basis must be significantly curbed.
  
  
• It is time that we convert the current political crisis and scandal as an opportunity for meaningful political reform to cleanse our public life. Mere expression of shock and disgust is not enough. Even expulsion of members is not sufficient. Parties, media and democracy movements must stand together to transform the process of power and evolve a new political culture which can sustain integrity and promote public good.
  
  
• Lok Satta and VOTEINDIA movement are working precisely in this direction. We are evolving specific political reforms to address these questions, and meaningful strategies to drive the reform agenda. (More on this shall be posted soon.)