Skip to main content

'Mockery of democracy': Distributing tickets to turncoats, film stars or celebrities

By Sudhansu R Das* 
The candidates’ capacity to spend and win elections is not his real capacity to protect the interest of the state. So, distributing tickets on the basis of the candidates’ chance of winning is a political blunder because it excludes a large number of leaders who can’t spend but are quite capable of contributing to improve the governance and quality of life in the country.
Distributing tickets to turncoats, film stars or celebrities without knowing their real contribution to society is a mockery of democracy. A large number of potential young leaders face exclusion for life time because they can’t spend money on election campaigns. 
What is the use of living in a political party for life time which can’t support the dedicated workers to become public representatives? The interest of the party and the nation is above the whims and fancy of the Supremos.
Political parties randomly pick up non-party members to contest elections at the last moment. Major political parties in Odisha should understand the sentiments of their workers and give tickets to the deserving candidates only.
They can choose from the general public but the candidates should be good; he may not have enough money to spend on a high profile election campaign but has the capacity and the vision to contribute for nation building. The political parties should meet the election expenditure of those candidates.
There is no dearth of brave scholars, academicians, journalists, social workers, experienced farmers, skilled artisans, saints and seers in Odisha; they should be given party tickets to contest election before it is too late and they become too far from politics. Political parties which are flushed with donations from electoral bonds have the opportunity to distribute tickets to the capable people in the society.
A rich man, a rich cricketer, a rich industrialist and a rich film actor can win the election, but what will he do post election? A few of them have really contributed to nation building in the past many decades. The rest have remained absent maximum hours during the parliament and assembly sessions; this is a colossal waste only.
Now BJP, BJD and Congress should immediately withdraw tickets distributed to those people and give the tickets to the candidates who can protect the economic, social and cultural interest of the state. Over decades,
Odisha has lost its precious border land, language, culture, natural resources, crop diversity, precious temple idols and water bodies because the parties have given tickets to undeserving candidates to fight elections. The state has lost too much and the people have suffered endlessly. Time has come to correct the past mistake.
When an election is declared, many opportunist leaders hop from one party to another; they read the direction of the wind and jump in that direction. Those leaders take advantage of the weak leadership of the party and easily enter into a new party just before the election.
Many unknown new faces without any contribution to society and the state get tickets. The centrist parties of India, the BJP and the Congress, should have a strong policy to prevent turncoats' entry into their parties; they can sabotage democracy.
The nation should have strong laws to eradicate the turncoats and party hoppers for the safety of the democracy. Indian intellectuals, judiciary, media, social reformers, saints and seers should wake up to stop the hazard of turncoat politics.
The centrist parties should not look at the face value of the candidates; they should not give tickets to people with celebrity status or some glamour attached without judging their contribution to the society. A film star is useful in cinema only and he may not be able to serve the state.
Political candidates should know the pulse of the people, the economy and the culture of the state; they should know the status of unemployment, farmers, weavers, artisans, industries, services sector, small businessmen, water bodies, crop diversity and the social environment etc.
Anybody with a film background or with money power should not make a cakewalk into any centrist party. Politics is a seva and not a Bhog Bilas which no candidate should aspire to get it through politics.
The state media should help good candidates to win elections. Media should educate and inform people about the candidates’ capacity to govern. Without the support of the media, it is not possible for any turncoat to win an election; it is not possible for any party to win an election with bad candidates.
The media in Odisha can play a key role to project good candidates irrespective of party. The electoral battle is about to begin. The sound of the Panchajanya is heard. The media, intellectuals, youth and conscious citizens have to decide which side they should choose.

Comments

TRENDING

Modi win may force Pak to put Kashmir on backburner, resume trade ties with India

By Salman Rafi Sheikh*  When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi. 

Tyre cartel's monopoly: Farmers' groups seek legal fight for better price for raw rubber

By Our Representative  The All India Kisan Sabha and the Kerala Karshaka Sangham that represents the largest rubber producing state of Kerala along with rubber farmers have sought intervention against the monopoly tyre companies that have formed a cartel against the interests of consumers and farmers.  Vijoo Krishnan, AIKS General Secretary, Valsan Panoli, Kerala Karshaka Sangham General Secretary, and four farmers representing different rubber growing regions of Kerala have filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative  The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime.  TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya.  Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor*  Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Climate crisis: Modi-led BJP 'refraining from phasing out coal production, emissions'

By Our Representative  Civil society groups have released a charter of demands for securing climate justice and moving towards a just transition, demanding review and reframing of India’s Climate Action Policy Framework. The charter says that while the daily summer temperature in the country has already begin to roar sky high, millions of people in India are heading to the booths to cast their vote in this scorching heat. The everyday impacts of extreme weather events, a result of the climate crisis, has become alarmingly threatening.

As inequality afflicts voters, Ambanis seem 'happily honest' flexing economic power

By Sonali Kolhatkar*  There are several exercises in extremes playing out in India right now. Nearly a billion people are voting in elections that will last into early June, braving record-high temperatures to cast ballots. Against this backdrop, Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani , is throwing what will likely be the world’s most expensive wedding for his youngest son.

Indian authorities 'ignoring' renewable energy sources not requiring high voltage power lines

By Shankar Sharma*  Recent media reports greatly appreciating a recent order of the Supreme Court bench on climate action in India should also be seen in the context of threats to the Great Indian Bustard. The judgement is being hailed as very important for the success of climate action in India. The associated observation by the honourable Court that climate crisis impacts citizens’ right to life is being deemed as critical in the long-term welfare of our people.

Congress manifesto: Delving deep into core concepts related to equity, social justice?

By Prof RR Prasad*  The deafening current clamor on one of the agenda items of the 2024 Congress Party Election Manifesto has made common people to ponder whether ideologies like social justice and equity could become conundrum and contentious manifestations of some organization's vision and mission.

Why India 'lacks' decommissioning policy for ageing, unviable, eco-destructive dams

By Parineeta Dandekar*  The recently-concluded World Fisheries Congress in Seattle in March 2024  discussed several themes relating to the health of our rivers, dependent communities and fish. Of the several interesting sessions, the  symposium on ‘Dam Removal as a River Restoration Tool at the Water-Energy-Food Nexus’ was of particular interest.   I was simultaneously at two parallel sessions and hence was unable to attend some of the presentations but have tried to provide an overview of the presentations and discussions, in addition to the session where I presented a paper.