While India is said to be the most populous democracy in the world, the periodic elections which take place are nothing but occasions for parties backed by super-rich capitalists to hurl insults against one another and make all kinds of false promises to the people.
The recent campaigns for the state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram have witnessed leaders of the BJP and Congress Party pushing political discourse to the lowest possible level.
Congress Party has complained to the Election Commission against Prime Minister Modi calling Rahul Gandhi “Murkhon ke Sardar” (Leader of Fools). BJP has complained about Rahul Gandhi’s comments blaming Modi for bringing bad luck to the Indian cricket team. The trading of such insults by these leaders makes people wonder how the fate of the country can be entrusted in their hands.
Soliciting votes based on religion or caste is supposed to be a violation of the model code of conduct for candidates. However, appealing to caste and religious identities has become the norm for BJP and Congress Party. In the recent campaigns, BJP candidates have been accusing Congress Party of being pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu, and of being against Gurjars and certain other castes. Congress candidates have accused BJP of being anti-Muslim and against Dalits. The fact which is sought to be hidden is that both of these parties are pro-capitalist, anti-worker and anti-peasant.
Modi and other BJP leaders have blamed the Congress government in Rajasthan for unemployment and inflation. Leaders of the Congress Party have accused the BJP of enriching capitalist billionaries such as Gautam Adani, claiming that their party is committed to serve workers and peasants.
Facts show that both when the Congress Party is in charge of the government and when BJP is in charge, the monopoly capitalists amass wealth by super-exploiting the working class and looting the peasants and other small producers. Both these parties are trying to hide the truth that the entire economic system of capitalism is oriented to enrich the billionaires at the expense of the working people.
The leaders of both BJP and Congress have repeatedly promised during election campaigns that lakhs of new jobs would be created if they get to form the government. The reality is that unemployment has reached an unprecedented level. Governments headed by these parties are all committed to the agenda of enabling the expansion of monopoly capitalist companies under the banner of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation. The result is that more jobs get destroyed than the number of new jobs that get created.
Indian and foreign monopoly capitalists spend enormous amounts of money to finance the campaigns of their trusted parties, making it extremely difficult for candidates of workers and peasants to get elected. While the impression is created that people elect the party of their choice, it is in fact the monopoly capitalists who use the electoral process to entrust the executive power to the party of their choice.
Elections, whether for the central parliament or state assemblies, will remain a tool for legitimising the rule of the bourgeoisie until and unless the domination of parties backed by big money power is ended; and the political process is transformed to bring decision-making power into the people’s hands. Only then can the economic system be transformed from being oriented to fulfil capitalist greed to being oriented to fulfil the people’s needs.