Vote Chori is a global pandemic

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People elect the government they want. But a former Israeli foreign minister warned in a recent article, “Historians of antiquity describe how the first Roman Emperor’s ability to “organise opinion” enabled him to maintain the pretence of safeguarding democracy while subverting its institutions to create a “new state.” Political scientists observe a similar phenomenon. This is not just a matter of distorting reality or cultivating an image: it demands the active subversion and gradual destruction of the rule of law.”

India has been experiencing a systematic weakening of the pillars of democracy and their “domestication” to create a Naya Bharat for over a decade now. The opposition parties accuse the media of not telling the emperor that he is naked and instead becoming his propaganda tool. The closet bhakts on constitutional chair shamelessly equate toeing the official line as being a “True Indian”. Bulldozer justice wherein the babus loyal to the rulers play the judge, jury and executioner and systematically target political opponents and their supporters is whitewashed as Singham nyay. Bullies with godfathers in ruling party get away with murder, sometimes literally. Laws, law enforcers or even judiciary are attacked ferociously when seen as impediments to the implementation of a Parivar’s political and social agenda. This range from someone who would be in charge of holding general elections being forced to quit by harassing his family or judges not getting elevated to the Supreme Court and summarily transferred for passing an order that embarrassed the powers that be.

The article cautions that populist-authoritarians present themselves as “authentic representatives of the ‘people’ and bulwarks against the excesses of the ‘elites’.” The former Israeli foreign minister gives the example of Netanyahu, who is accused of corruption, and Donald Trump, a convicted felon, as “Outlaws” who portray their legal battles as evidence that government “institutions actively target those who challenge the establishment.” Such politicians bank on public distrust of government institutions, which is abundant nowadays.

India had its comeuppance when it was mesmerised by a “Chaiwala” promising “Achhe Din” (better days), Rs 15 lakh in every bank account and rooting out of corruption and who accused the Delhi elite of accusing him out of pique of turning a blind eye to communal riots on his watch. To the dismay of voters, once he was ensconced safely on the throne, his Sancho Panza declared the promises to be mere jumlas uttered to win elections and not words to be kept. The Divider-in-chief now recognises certain people by their attire and regularly cries wolf of them being a danger to mangalsutras etc. Today he is charged with tailoring laws and policies to suit his political agenda and favour crony capitalists. He is installing ideologues to rewrite school textbooks to replace historical facts with what the Opposition calls WhatsApp University fiction. The latest example is blaming the party of Bapu that got India its independence of being in cahoots with Jinnah and Lord Mountbatten for the partition of India. The opposition parties see this as right-wingers whitewashing history to absolve their ancestors of the sin of conniving with the British to sabotage the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. These neo-nationalists now claim the sole right to certify who is a True Indian and send their ideological opponents to Pakistan. After all, as the former Israeli foreign minister points out “all the autocrat needs is one electoral victory” to start dismantling the democracy. Putin is the best example of how elections can be turned into a farce.

The Israeli foreign minister forewarns, “Tyrants rule for themselves, their cronies, and occasionally their constituents – never their opponents. Anyone who tries to hold them accountable – the media, the judiciary, government technocrats, academics – is biased, lying, or an agent of the deep state.” The US SEC recently informed a US Court that its summons to an Indian businessman facing corruption charges in the US have not yet been served after 10 months. The person in question had earlier been accused of hanky-panky by a US short seller and is still being investigated by an Indian watchdog. The Opposition has painted this capitalist as the pradhan crony of the Chowkidar who had escaped the Chor tag by the skin of the teeth courtesy a sealed envelope accepted by the nation’s top court.

The Andhbhaktverse whining about George Soros and toolkit conspiracy and, “Our government but their system”, whenever either the courts rule against their non-biological or give relief to political opponents being bullied and hounded add weight to the Israeli foreign minister’s proposition of democracy being systematically dismantled one discredit at a time. In conclusion he says, “If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, the mantle of a divine calling elevates the scoundrel above ordinary mortals and their rules.” The US got fooled by Donald Trump’s claim, “He who saves his country does not violate any law.” Today Trump is gerrymandering, trying to end use of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of mid-term elections in 2026 and, in fact, using every trick in the book to weaken the guardrails that protect theUSdemocracy.

Luckily, India saw through the self-proclaimed non-biological God’s gift and brought him down to earth. Alas, his achche din seem to be nearing their end as he may have dodged the “Chowkidar Chor Hai” charge but today faces charge of Vote Chori. The poor and middle class are already angered by misgovernance in general and the paucity of jobs, soaring cost of living and crumbling infrastructure in particular. Now the prospect of Vote Chori resulting in their losing one thing that made the powerful politicians come crawling to them, even if once in 5 years, could well prove to be the last straw. We have seen Pegasus, Operation Kamal, coercion of MLAs and MPs to switch sides as well as boasts that the Opposition is not coming back to power for the next 50 years. The days when voters could be fooled if the Pradhan, whose face is omnipresent, gave the guarantee in his name are over. Voters have had enough of swayam ke sevaks (self-seekers). History is witness, the bigger they are the harder they fall. People do not deserve the government theydidn’telect.

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