Practically nothing, except that (a) people were only thinking ‘locally’, not ‘nationally’, (b) that they are not too happy with the NDA’s performance but tolerate it because of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor, (c) there was really no real choice for the people; so they opted for changing old rulers, DMK in T.N., AGP in Assam, CPM in Kerala and in West Bengal they were not sure if Mamata is mature or good enough to rule.
To say that it is a sweeping mandate for Jayalalitha and, therefore, corruption, is wrong. Only 59 out of 100 voted, 41 refused to vote. Secondly, of the 59 who voted, 29 voted for Jayalalitha and 26 for DMK. Can this be called ‘sweeping’, ‘landslide’? Jayalalitha should not forget that 29 voted for her but 71 did not. Besides, she is supposed to get elected within 6 months – how, when she is debarred from contesting? Does democracy mean ‘numbers’ (30% in this case alone or norms, values, morality? If there was PR (proportional representation), both the AIADMK and DMK would have got almost the same number of seats – AIADMK only a few more. So where is this ‘sweeping mandate’?
Mr. Arvind Deshpande is Hon. Secretary, Leslie Sawhny Programme for Training in Democracy, and a member of the Indian Liberal Group.