The promise of democracy, after all

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Democracy promises a lot, and that's its great appeal to many of us. Some promises get fulfilled. Some don't. That's the way it goes. But here's what democracy does not promise you, no not at all - an unfulfilled meta-promise, if you will: that it will redeem every one of its promises in full measure. Instead, the chance that that will happen is all democracy can assure, along with the chance to voice your disapproval. (Or, equally, your approval.)

That is: If you don't like a particular government, democracy offers you the chance to punish it, even if it cannot guarantee a better one next time. If you're willing to consider democracy in that spirit, many things become clearer. So keep that in mind as we go through our great exercise in voting over the next several weeks.

But first, think of what happened in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections. Indira Gandhi had given us nearly two years of terror and empty slogans - her infamous Emergency. But then, apparently believing the country adored her for strangling our freedoms, she called for elections. Aware of the intrinsic electoral strength of the Congress(I) even in the wake of its perversion of democracy, a number of parties joined hands to fight Indira. Ideologically, the coalition spanned the entire political spectrum: from Rajaji's and Masani's Swatantra Party to JP's Socialist Party; from Charan Singh's Bharatiya Kranti Dal to Vajpayee and Advani's Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the precursor to today's BJP. These were ideological opponents from the ground up, and yet they came together that year as the Janata Party.

Now Indira had her fans. "But the trains are running on time!", they'd cry every time someone pointed out the horrors of the Emergency. Because of their passion for her, the Congress won plenty of seats in 1977, especially across the south and the northeast. But millions of other Indians were appalled by her. Many were determined to vote against her. But there were also many who, wary of the Janata alternative, found themselves asking: "If not Indira, who?"

Good question, and it got an emphatic answer. When the results came in, Indira and her Congress(I) had been routed all across north and central India, enough to offset her victories elsewhere. The Janata Party piled up 345 seats to the Congress's 189. As for Indira herself, she was not one of those 189, for she lost to Raj Narain in Rae Bareli.

In other words, Indira had been taught a fundamental lesson of democracy, especially by the folks who asked "If not Indira, who?": you give voters reason to be upset, they use their vote to punish you, regardless of the alternatives. And in fact, the misgivings those folks had were well-founded, for the alternative they chose itself failed spectacularly. In two years, the Janata Party had collapsed and, in its turn and regardless of the alternative, was similarly punished. Indira returned to power in the 1980 election.

That did not, however, invalidate the lesson voters taught her in 1977.

So when we look back on those sepia-toned days from decades later, let's ask: should the electorate really have turned Indira out in 1977? Certainly! That's exactly how we told her of our displeasure and made it count. The promise of democracy, after all.

Back in 2019 again: Who should we vote for when we go to our booths on our designated polling day? I don't know about you - perhaps you've made your choice and are comfortable with it, maybe even passionate about it. But in election after election, I've heard voters complaining of the choice they have, using language like "the lesser of two evils", and "there's just no alternative" and the like.

So with our upcoming Lok Sabha election. Do we choose Modi and his BJP? Well, then we're rewarding five years of news like lynchings, the demonetization that was nothing but trouble for millions, the massacre across Gujarat in February and March 2002, besides the roiling hatred that has gifted us phrases like "go to Pakistan" and "anti-national" and "presstitute". Or do we choose the Congress? In which case we have to forget the soiled record their last government built up: CWG and 2G and more gigantic scams. Or will it be one of various smaller parties, which may or may not form a coalition to fight the elections jointly? Then we have to ignore the memories of past coalition governments, like the 1977 Janata experiment: how unstable they were, how paralyzed in decision-making, how unable to resist the pressures of one recalcitrant ally or the other. Or do we vote for an independent candidate, knowing how slim the chances always are that she will be able to upset party nominees?

The point is, every one of the choices have their problems. But that's always the case, in every election. I don't recall one time I've voted that I didn't have misgivings. And yet, if you're a believer in democracy, you have to make a choice. You have to cast your vote.

Which brings me to the question so many people ask: "If not Modi, then who?" I don't mean those who are already determined to vote for Modi, or against him, for they have made their choices. I mean you, yes you, who are vacillating. Perhaps you are a Modi fan who is now increasingly disillusioned. Perhaps you disapprove of his record in office but don't care for, or cannot make up your mind about, the alternatives. Perhaps, in fact, you think: the question itself speaks to my essential dilemma in 2019. I don't want to vote for this man and his party, but I can't see anyone else whom I should vote for either. Therefore, I will vote for him.

If your thought process is something like that, it's you I'm trying to reach, to tell you that it's mistaken. Remember how millions of disillusioned Indians voted to throw out Indira in 1977. So if you're disillusioned with this Government, vote to throw it out. The promise of democracy, after all.

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