Click to play videoThere have been two big cases of cash-for-votes so far in this election season that have stunned the electorate. On Wednesday, the administration of Rajasthan's Barmer district has sent a preliminary report to the Election Commission on the distribution of money by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh. This comes close on the heels of Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh being accused of distributing cash during Holi celebrations.
In the latest event, Jaswant Singh was caught on camera on Tuesday distributing money during an election meeting in Gajaria village of Barmer, about 550 km from Jaipur. Official sources said the administration has charged the BJP leader with three offences - money distribution, distribution of food packets and promise to install hand pumps - in its report to the Election Commission.
The question being debated on CNN-IBN's Face The Elections was: Is it impossible to stop distribution of cash during elections?
On the panel of experts to try and answer the question were BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Mittal; Director Centre for Media Studies P N Vasanti; and independent candidate from Pune Arun Bhatia.
At the beginning of the show, 67 per cent viewers agreed that it was indeed impossible to stop distribution of cash during elections while a minority 33 per cent disagreed and said such malpractices could be stopped.
Sudhanshu Mittal felt that the Election Commission was making campaigning impossible by strewing too many obstacles in the path of candidates. To bring cases like Jaswant Singh's under the ambit of the model code of conduct was, he said, " undermining elections, trivialising the entire thing."
"The intent is that money power should not be used to influence vote," he stated.
"The Election Commission is increasingly making electioneering impossible. The traditional and cheap ways of reaching out to the electorate are now being stopped by the Election Commission," Mittal said.
"In the name of sound pollution, they (the Election Commission) have stopped dhols (drums). Posters - which are the cheapest way of reaching out to the maximum number of people - have been stopped. Just imagine, in fifteen days' time, you have to reach out to a constituency of say 15 lakh voters and they have put such stringent and unrealistic conditions," protested Mittal.
He pointed out that now a candidate has to depend on expensive ways like newspaper advertisements and television advertisements to reach his electorate.
P N Vasanti found Mittal's argument totally ridiculous, saying, "In a democracy, there are certain rules."
"The Election Commission is trying to help and set some rules," she added. "He is right, we do have to meet so many million people in so many days' time but there are means to do that. Who says that you have to pay cash to go and influence people?"
USING MONEY POWER TO CAMPAIGN
"Has he (Jaswant Singh) said take this money and give me votes? Let us not misguide people in the name of the law. Let's understand the law also," Mittal argued. "The law says that it is a corrupt electoral practice in case you are bribing people for votes."
Mittal objected to a sick man being given monetary aid being called as corrupt electoral practice. "Is there liquor being distributed?" Mittal listed his perception of corrupt electoral practices.
Independent candidate Arun Bhatia who won a fair number of votes without a strong political back up saw the Election Commission's stand on the cash-for-votes issue as a positive happening. He did see it as an effort by the EC to ensure a level playing field.
"I agree with the EC though these examples seem trivial," Bhatia said. "Let us not for a moment assume that money does not play a significant role in elections. It is horrible."
He cited examples of how his political rivals in the previous election allegedly brought trunk-loads of money and distributed it in bastis (localities housing the poorest of poor). He also mentioned that newspapers refused to cover his election campaign in the previous election unless he gave out expensive advertisements to them.
Mittal expressed joy that the time frame issue had showed up. "There is the problem of money being used in elections but what is the remedy? The remedy is that do not have these 15 day elections. Do you realise that an independent candidate like Arunji cannot reach out to 15 lakh people in 15 days?"
"Please increase the campaign time. Make it a month, a month and a half." suggested Mittal.
Vasanti did not agree with Mittal. "Who are you fooling here? I am sure even Mr Mittal knows that there has always been money being paid to the voters in elections."
AN INSULT TO THE VOTERS?
Outside observers may argue that money does not ensure electoral victory and people do lose.
"Exactly," said Vasanti. "It reflects on the politicians and not on the voters. The voter here is just enjoying the freebies being pushed down his throat."
"Here the money is not given to the voters by the politicians not to convince the voter to vote for him or her but just to stay in the game as everyone is giving money," Vasanti added.
Sudhanshu Mittal pointed out that certain sections of the Indian society who were faced with abject poverty did expect to vote on receiving money. "This is what needs to be checked," Mittal said.
"No politician is just to happy to give money. The problem is that the socio-economic conditions and the interest groups in the society are such that these are the allurements offered to a candidate for support. These are bad practices. But what we do instead of taking a pragmatic view of the situation and looking for solutions, we trivialise the issue," Mittal added.
DEMONS IN DEMOCRACY
Arun Bhatia joined the debate at this point and said that while we have been talking of direct bribe to voters and ignoring the influence of the intimidating mafia link-ups politicians utilise to intimidate and influence voters.
"This (bribing directly) does happen but is nowhere as serious as the mafia organisations maintained by major political parties," he said.
Mittal responded in kind asking, "Who has the kind of strength and energy to maintain mafia groups? The rule says an elected representative's time is not his time anymore. People will walk in anytime nowadays."
But in a country strapped with a huge population, some one has to make a start somewhere. A signal has to go out to all involved that the seemingly trivial, cosmetic laws are but to ensure free and fair elections.
REMEDIES
Mittal pointed out that one remedy for this was to make all elections state-funded. "To raise money for the elections, do you realise the kind of compromises that people are making?"
The donations made to politicians or parties should be done openly and publicly.
"State funding will not put an end to the large amount of black money being hoarded in this country," pointed out Bhatia. "You can have five or two or one crore marked as state funding for every candidate in elections but that does not mean that the black money stops circulating," he pointed out.
"The question is where does the money go? It goes out to fund politicians, bureaucrats, political parties and to the mafia maintained by the political parties," Bhatia said.
The mafia intervenes and influences voting trends by cheating voting localities of daily necessities and intimidating the voters.
Mittal said, "I think Mr Bhatia is living in the seventies and the eighties."
Bhatia gently reminded Mittal that he had been 26 years in public life and been a returning officer of six elections. "I probably know more about elections than you do," Bhatia stated.
The hopeful thing about the issue is that a majority section of our Indian electorate has been voting term after term, to keep our democracy sane and alive. So it was not done because they were being paid. Therefore it would be an insult to the voter to conclude that he only votes because he receives money from politicians.
Final Web/SMS results: Is it impossible to stop distribution of cash during elections?
Yes: 68 per cent
No : 32 per cent.
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