Sasi Nair
Mumbai, May 3
So finally today the election results are pouring in from various states of India and winners are celebrating, losers sulking, which is common in any election. Pinarayi Vijayan is retaining Kerala perhaps riding on the state’s handling of floods last year and then the pandemic.
Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress is set to win West Bengal by almost identical margin as last year with BJP also making good inroads and establishing its presence in the state, which will bode well for the party in the long-term.
A son is rising in Tamil Nadu with Stalin’s party ahead in the election results. BJP is retaining Assam which perhaps will help it in keeping some sway in the north east. All India NR Congress which is part of the NDA is winning in Puducherry and will form the government.
India’s oldest national party, Indian National Congress is largely missing from any of these states, a big fall from its heydays when the party was led by Indira Gandhi.
Elections are an important part and parcel of a democratic process but that is not the only focus here. We are in the midst of a severe pandemic which is threatening our lives and livelihoods, people are dying for lack of oxygen, hospital beds are not available and even cremation grounds are running out of space for the dead.
It is appalling to see political party workers, whichever party they may be, gathering in large numbers and celebrating on the streets, most of them without any masks to celebrate victories. Kumbh Mela was held, elections were held in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Assam, and Road Safety World Series was also held in the month of March.
All these invited huge gathering of crowds resulting in spread of coronavirus, just when the Indian economy was picking up and the virus was looking to exit from India. The government and public invited it and some of the events were called off late in the day but the damage had been done.
Our hospital and medical system was weak and this is getting exposed in the onslaught of the second wave of coronavirus. Political leaders do not care about common people; they are left on their own, and are now paying the price. Are celebrations necessary in the new normal, sadly that seems to be the case. Common man will continue to pay the price; he will pay taxes to the government and will shell out money in hospitals and even die in undignified manner.
And ah those elections, it is high time that elections should be moved to the digital platform. Let candidates canvass online on what their achievements are and what they intend to do. Why should people gather outside in queues to cast their votes during times of pandemic? Remember, individuals have to bear the expenses and pains associated with it, governments won’t, you will suffer alone.
